AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) has become the first Russian airline to gain International Air Transport Association (IATA) Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Pharma certification at its Moscow hub.
The certificate was presented to ABC by IATA manager aviation solutions Russia branch office, Andrey Bystrov. ABC completed preparation for CEIV certification and passed the audit within four months. It involved specialist pharma training for 200 employees.
ABC, which is now the seventh airline in the world to gain the certificate, says the CEIV Pharma certification is an important milestone for the Volga-Dnepr Group and Sheremetyevo International Airport, raising standards for pharma shipments in Russia to a new level.
ABC general director, Sergey Lazarev says: “We are confident that this confirmation of our competency and expertise will allow us to increase our volumes of pharma products across our international route network, including imports and exports to/from Russia. It will also help us to attract additional transit cargo via Sheremetyevo airport on the Europe-Asia trade lane.”
Volga-Dnepr Group senior vice president sales & marketing, Robert van de Weg adds: “We have demonstrated that we have the required processes in place to meet this IATA global standard and to provide the level of quality and consistency that is so paramount to every customer shipping healthcare products.”
Sheremetyevo chief executive officer, Mikhail Vasilenko says ABC’s certification will be supported by large-scale development at the airport. A new 47,000 square metre automated cargo terminal will be commissioned in 2017.
The $85 million terminal (artists impression below) will be able to handle up to 380,000 tonnes a year, with potential to expand to one million.
Vasilenko says: “We are set on building the largest cargo hub in Europe to meet the growing market needs and create favourable conditions for long-term success of our partner airlines.”
