Lufthansa Cargo’s new pharma hub at Munich Airport has opened after a construction period of only five months,
It offers space for up to 96 pallets and loose cargo in two different temperature ranges (+2 to +8 °C and +15 to +25 °C) and a freezer (down to -18 °C) on almost 1,000 sq m and on several levels.
Harald Gloy, Lufthansa Cargo Board Member Operations, said: “With the new Pharma-Hub at our hub in Munich, we have created a state-of-the-art infrastructure for temperature-sensitive freight that will guarantee our customers even higher transport quality for their pharma shipments in the future.
“Particularly in the context of the corona pandemic, the relevance of stable supply chains and fast transport of medicines or vaccines has once again been demonstrated.”
In addition to him, Ola Hansson, Lufthansa Hub CEO Munich, and Jost Lammers, Chairman of Flughafen München, were also present during the opening ceremony.
An IATA CEIV Pharma-certification for the new pharma-hub in Munich is planned for this autumn and will be the first pharma-certification by IATA at Munich Airport.
In addition to the new capacities for temperature-sensitive cargo at the southern German hub, Lufthansa Cargo is also expanding these capacities in the US.
The Lufthansa Cargo Pharma Center Chicago at O’Hare Airport was opened there in June. Since the middle of the year, the 750 sq m facility has been providing space on several levels for up to 54 pallets and 102 cool containers in two different temperature ranges (+2 to +8 °C and +15 to 25 °C) and in a freezer (down to -18 °C).
Most of the pharmaceutical shipments carried by Lufthansa Cargo are handled at the Frankfurt hub. There, the Lufthansa Cargo Pharma Hub Frankfurt was last extended by around two-thirds to 8,000 sq m in 2018.
It was one of the first pharma cool centres in the world to be CEIV Pharma-certified. By the end of 2020, Lufthansa Cargo’s worldwide network is expected to comprise 31 CEIV Pharma-certified pharma stations. In addition, this CEIV network is being continuously expanded.
In the picture from left to right: Johannes Zinkl, Lufthansa Cargo Head of Hub Management Munich, Ola Hansson, Lufthansa Hub CEO Munich, Harald Gloy, Lufthansa Cargo Board Member Operations, Jost Lammers, Chairman of Flughafen