Emirates SkyCargo’s pharma investments pay off in record volumes for 2017

Emirates SkyCargo wrapped up a year of record volumes and expansion, carrying 2.5 million tonnes of freight this year across its global network.

The carrier’s president, Tim Clark, commented that despite challenging market conditions, the carrier had successfully implemented initiatives to boost revenues, trim costs, and used emerging technologies “to make our business and operations more agile, without compromising on quality or service.” Clark added that Emirates was entering the new year with “optimism, and an unflagging drive to keep raising the bar in terms of customer experience and business performance.”

The Dubai-based carrier’s freight arm, SkyCargo, continued its expansion into specialized transportation solutions for industry verticals, including pharmaceuticals, following extensive investments that included a new temperature controlled facility at DWC.

With the introduction of Emirates Pharma, the carrier saw a 38 percent growth in the volume of pharmaceutical cargo since its launch. Interestingly, the carrier opted for GDP certification, as opposed to the widely adopted CEIV Pharma certification.

That strategy seems to be working in the Emirates’ favor, with Henrik Ambak, Emirates SkyCargo’s SVP for global cargo operations explaining that, “GDP is an EU regulatory framework for logistics underpinning GMP for the manufacturing of pharma. Ambak added that Emirates SkyCargo has, “no plan to add CEIV,” since the carrier’s customers are already responding positively to the new pharma handling service, and Emirates’ GDP certified pharma lanes.