Brussels Airport creates cool-chain pharma transporter

Brussels Airport, the first airport to be certified with IATA’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators – Pharmaceutical Handling (CEIV-Pharma), has invented and developed its own clever new cool-chain gadget: the airside pharma transporter.

The refrigerated transporter – a trailer with an insulated cool box installed on top of it – was specifically designed for transporting temperature-sensitive goods from warehouses to the waiting aircraft on the tarmac, a trip that is often considered a weak link in the cool chain that too often leads to excursions. The technology used in the Brussels invention allows the temperature and location of the transporter to be monitored in real time.

The transporter was developed as part of the Flanders Farma Hub, a collaboration between the pharmaceutical and logistics industries, as well as through input from all the partners of BRUcargo, the dedicated cargo community at Brussels Airport. Four transporters have been put into use.

“We are again reinforcing our reputation as an innovative and forward-thinking region,” said Marc Florquin, economy and innovation deputy for Belgium’s province of Flemish Brabant.