New purpose-built Pharma Handling Centre at Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal

Hong Kong air cargo handler Cathay Pacific Services Ltd (CPSL) has opened a fully temperature-controlled area of over 1,250 square metres dedicated to the handling of pharmaceutical products at the Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal (CPCT).
The new facility is capable of processing 235,000 tonnes of pharmaceuticals per year, doubling the terminal’s existing cold storage area and capacity. It is the largest dedicated pharma handling centre of any Hong Kong-based air cargo terminal.
The purpose-built Pharma Handling Centre was designed and built “with unique pharma-handling requirements in mind, taking advantage of the latest technologies and designs to offer peace of mind temperature-sensitive cargo solutions for customers”, the company said. It is directly connected to the terminal’s Container Handling System (CHS) “to ensure prompt acceptance, storage and delivery”, and has been built to IATA CEIV Pharma standards.
The centre is one part of CPSL’s “Total Cold Chain Solution, ensuring valuable cold chain shipments remain at the optimal temperature from the moment they arrive at the Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal to the moment they depart, transferring them as safely, efficiently and quickly as possible”, the company said. CPSL also has a 1,250 square-metre multi-temperature-zone cold room, a perishable-handling centre for immediate perishable handling, thermal dollies for transfers between aircraft and terminal, as well as an “internet of things (IoT) enabled MobiFresh solution”.
Features include a web-based monitoring system that facilitates real-time temperature and humidity management – with over 60 temperature sensors – to ensure all handling is under the controlled ambient temperature (15oC to 25oC). The facility’s “temperature-controlled lobby” includes truck docks with inflatable shelters for virtually airtight sealing for vehicles, to maintain optimal temperature during acceptance and delivery.
CPSL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Airways, operating the CPCT terminal, which is capable of handling an annual throughput of 2.7 million tonnes.