Continuing its contributions for the sustainability of the global supply chain by building a global air cargo bridge all across the globe with its cargo flights, Turkish Cargo started to carry COVID-19 vaccines with its strong fleet, wide flight network and special cargo service quality.
Offering service to 127 countries around the world, Turkish Cargo carried the COVID-19 vaccines, manufactured in China, to Brazil which is at a flight distance of approximately 17 thousand kilometers. The COVID-19 vaccines, loaded inside 7 containers equipped with dedicated cooling systems, were transported safely from Beijing to Sao Paulo, the biggest city of the South America, with a connection flight at Istanbul.
By carrying pharmaceuticals to the key and certificated destinations such as Mumbai, Brussels, Istanbul, Singapore, Dubai, Basel, London and Amsterdam, Turkish Cargo created a global pharmaceutical corridor between more than 400 destinations, and maintains its commitment for transporting the COVID-19 vaccines that are ready or being developed.
Holding the IATA CEIV (Center of Excellence for Independent Validators) pharma certificate, Turkish Cargo, maintains the cold chain at the optimal conditions thanks to the “TK Pharma” product which was has designed for carrying pharmaceuticals at global standards. Transporting pharmaceuticals all across the global in great numbers during the course of the pandemic, the successful brand carried more than 40 thousand tons of pharmaceuticals, medical products and medical equipment between January and September, and reported a growth over 50 percent for the pharmaceutical shipments during the same period.
Turkish Cargo provided a capacity increase for the COVID-19 vaccine shipments
In order to satisfy the increased demand for transportation of the vaccines, pharmaceuticals and temperature-controlled cargo, Turkish Cargo commissioned the temperature-controlled smart warehouse with an additional area of 1200 square meters. Additionally, having increased its capacity for the cold chain shipments by 30 percent by working with the largest suppliers of active containers in the industry, Turkish Cargo enhanced its cold chain shipment scale to 25 thousand tonnes per month thanks to the capacity to service additional 150 aircraft pallets on instantaneous basis.
Turkish Airlines Chief Cargo Officer, Turhan Özen stated; ‘’We made significant contributions for the sustainability of the supply chain and enlarged our cold chain footprint all around the world thanks to the business processes we have been maintaining uninterruptedly during the course of the pandemic. For the purpose of maintaining the cross-continental cold chain, Turkish Cargo offers industrial solutions such as the dedicated temperature-controlled storehouses between the range of -20/25 degrees, pharmaceutical maintenance teams, active containers and thermal carriers. Thanks to our special cargo shipments, for which we hold all global qualifications and certifications, we are ready to transport the vaccines that are ready or being developed to all across the globe.”
SmartIST, the key transit air logistics center between Asia and Europe
Turkish Cargo is getting ready to offer even higher standards for the pharmaceutical shipments with the certificated dedicated operation areas that will be available with SmartIST, its new mega facility located at the Istanbul Airport (IST) that covers an area of 340 thousand square meters.
With an annual handling capacity of more than 4 million tonnes, SmartIST will be equipped with the receival, delivery and operation area dedicated for the special cargo, the temperature-controlled unit devices (ULDs), an operation area of 2100 square meters isolated from the other cargo and a web-based temperature and humidity monitoring systems.
Boasting the world’s widest direct cargo aircraft network, Turkish Cargo reaches over 300 destinations, 95 of which is direct cargo destinations, and offers its services 24/7 to its customers over its global network with its fleet of 365 aircrafts. Turkish Cargo continues to raise its bar for success every day by combining its wide range of service and operational capabilities with the unique geographical advantage of Turkey and aims to become one of the top 5 air cargo brands in 2023.
