To date, the Centre’s state of the art facilities have been used in the transportation of COVID-19 vaccines to the Canary and Balearic Islands, Dominican Republic and El Salvador, for shipments IAG Cargo has operated with its partner airline Iberia.
With two dedicated temperature-controlled chambers totalling over 900m2, the Madrid Centre joins London Heathrow and Dublin as one of IAG Cargo’s three Good Distribution Practice (GDP) certified facilities. The hubs connect to a network of 100 specialist stations worldwide and are staffed by IAG Cargo and Iberia teams specially trained in handling sensitive pharmaceutical goods. It also benefits from a specialist fleet of refrigerated trucks.
Fernando Terol Armas, director of spanish hub and operations at IAG Cargo, commented: “The opening of our pharmaceutical centre in Madrid was a landmark moment for IAG Cargo – supporting our world-leading Constant Climate product. The decision to invest in this state-of-the-art facility reflects our long-term commitment to drive quality across our network, whilst increasing capacity for our customers who rely on us to transport pharmaceuticals and life-saving medicines across the world every day.
“Our Madrid pharmaceutical facility is the largest in Southern Europe and with its strategic location it will continue to play a key part in the global roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines alongside our two other GDP certified hubs in Dublin and London Heathrow.”
Mª Jesús López Solás, commercial director of Iberia, commented: “In the past two years Iberia and IAG Cargo have achieved much together, delivering life-saving vaccines and medicines via IAG Cargo’s specialist pharmaceutical centre in Madrid. Iberia provides a network of flights, connecting Southern Europe with the rest of the world, whilst IAG Cargo provides the cargo expertise to ensure these delicate temperature-sensitive products are expertly handled.”
