Qatar Airways Cargo has signed an agreement to lease SkyCell containers.
The addition of these temperature-controlled hybrid containers will provide customers a wide range of containers to transport pharmaceuticals across the Middle East carrier’s global network.
Qatar Airways’ Chief Officer Cargo, Guillaume Halleux, said: “The logistics around pharmaceutical transportation is complex and being at the forefront of time and temperature sensitive transportation, we understand the intricacies of a seamless cool chain.
“Through this agreement with SkyCell, we are glad to expand our container offering under QR Pharma and present customers with more options to transport their sensitive products.
“The hybrid container establishes an entirely new product offering for our clients that is both safe and sustainable for our businesses and the planet.”
Chiara Venuti, Director Business Development and Airline Partnerships at SkyCell said: “The cooperation will meet the growing demand for hybrid containers as safe and sustainable pharma solutions for sensitive and critical drugs such as vaccines.”
All SkyCell containers are 100% recyclable, helping to eliminate landfill by preventing product waste and reduce a shipment’s carbon footprint by up to 50% due to their capability to charge independently of an external power supply, without the requirement of dry ice and manual intervention.
SkyCell’s hybrid containers are IoT (Internet of Things) enabled, meaning that their temperature conditions are monitored as they move around the globe to ensure temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals are protected even under extreme conditions.
The containers can maintain steady temperatures for up to 202 hours (8.4 days) and self-recharge automatically in a cooling chamber or reefer truck.
QR Pharma is Qatar Airways Cargo’s specialist product developed for pharmaceuticals and healthcare cargo.
With these investments, the airline sxaid that it is also preparing to support the logistics around the global vaccination plans, once the COVID-19 vaccine is ready.
The cargo carrier’s QR Pharma volumes have grown by 14.5% in 2019 over 2018.
