Amerijet becomes first U.S. all-cargo CEIV-Pharma-certified carrier [VIDEO]

The CEIV bug appears to be spreading in the United States. Just a day after Delta Cargo announced that it had earned IATA’s CEIV-Pharma certification, Amerijet International announced today that it had also earned a CEIV-Pharma cert, making it the first U.S.-based all-cargo airline to be awarded with the designation, although the actual certification was completed on June 27, 2017.

Flying 65,000 tonnes of temperature-controlled products annually, Amerijet said the certification gives it an edge in the high-margin pharma transport business.

With a direct cargo route between Miami and Brussels set to launch in the second quarter of 2018, Amerijet will also soon be flying between two of the biggest pharma shipment hubs on the two continents. Miami and Brussels airports founded pharma.aero, a cross-industry collaboration for pharma shippers, CEIV-certified cargo communities, airport operators and other air cargo industry stakeholders.

Glyn Hughes, IATA’s global head of cargo, said that Amerijet’s investments would contribute towards, “a stronger, more competitive and enhanced air cargo service for pharmaceuticals in North and Latin America.”

The carrier operates a 30,000-square-meter facility in Miami that includes temperature-controlled handling, with active alarm systems, temperature data recorders and 24/7 CCTV monitoring. Computer-monitored pharmaceutical cooling chambers provide storage environments for ambient (15°C to 25°C), chilled (2°C to 8°C), and frozen (0°C and below) shipments.

Rasheme Richardson, vice president of airport operations for Amerijet, added that the carrier, “demands the same uniform standards and processes from all of our business partners, including our handlers and trucking companies. Complying with the healthcare cold-chain logistics standards, expected from pharmaceutical manufacturers and life sciences companies, helps to support the global healthcare initiative of putting patient safety first.”

Below: An introduction to Amerijet’s cold-chain operations