DFW takes community approach for CEIV-Pharma certification

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) announced today that its logistics partners dnata cargo USA, SCL Cold Chain, B.I.G. Logistics and Expeditors were awarded IATA’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) certification for pharmaceutical handling at DFW. After Miami International Airport (MIA), DFW is the second North American airport with a CEIV-certified pharma community covering the entirety of the logistics chain.

The certification positions DFW nearer to its goal of establishing the airport as a “pharma gateway” and is part of a trend of airports building up existing partnerships with logistics providers to become airport communities. DFW is taking a proactive approach to establishing itself as a competitive hub airport, and last year partnered with Groupe ADP, the operator of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), to “develop air cargo strategies” and cooperate to expand growth opportunities in several key industries, such as pharmaceutical transport, non-pharma perishables and various high-value luxury goods.

Among DFW’s logistics partners involved in launching the community’s CEIV Pharma certification, dnata has been particularly active in seeking pharma handling certification and expanding its U.S. operations. In November, the ground handler invested US$8 million to launch operations at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and is CEIV Pharma-certified at its facilities in Amsterdam (AMS), Dubai (DXB), Singapore (SIN) and Toronto (YYZ). The ground handler also has Good Distribution Practices (GDP) certification at its AMS, London (LHR), Manchester (MAN), SIN and Zurich (ZRH) facilities.

The 37,000 square-foot DFW cold-chain facility itself is operated by dnata, which released a separate statement on the CEIV-certification, stating that in the past 12 months it has handled more than 500 tonnes of perishables at DFW. The space includes two dedicated pharma chambers, three multi-temperature zones and a 15,000 square foot area for airside refrigeration. Other DFW cool-chain facilities include a refrigerated dock with truck doors, dry cargo space and a certified customs screening facility.

As CEIV-Pharma certification continues to gain steam across the industry, IATA has launched new certificates for other specialty cargo. Last year, the industry association launched a CEIV certification for the transport of live animals, and at the World Cargo Symposium in Singapore this week, IATA launched CEIV-Fresh for perishables handling. Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) has already become the first CEIV-Fresh certified airport in the world.

Those interested in learning more about specialty cargo demand are invited to join us at Cargo Facts Asia 2019, to be held 15-17 at the Langham Shanghai. For more information, or to register, visit www.cargofactsasia.com.