As the second largest cargo hub in the Netherlands, Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) has established itself as a crucial base for the safe and controlled transport of temperature-sensitive medicines.
When deciding which airport to move pharmaceutical goods through, factors such as cargo handling expertise, facilities and infrastructure, customs and regulatory compliance, and the airport’s location all play a key role.
With pharmaceuticals making up a large portion of the high-value cargo MST transports, the airport has invested in cooling facilities that are designed to handle pharmaceutical cargo within specified temperature ranges.
“We also offer a security service for valuables, and our cargo team here at Maastricht is very experienced and renowned for its operational excellence, collaboration, and customer-oriented approach,” Jonas van Stekelenburg, CEO of MaastrichtAachen Airport, said.
“Our warehouses, both import and export, are fully certified. We achieved IATA CEIV-Pharma certification in October of 2018. We became Good Distribution Practices (GDP) certified in 2021, demonstrating our dedication to good distributive practices and quality,” van Stekelenburg continued. “We’re planning on further expanding our pharma throughput in the near future, as MST continues to expand its capacity and efficiency.”
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Training and technology
All of MST’s cargo handling staff are trained up on basic pharma awareness, and are equipped to handle Envirotainer active temperature control system containers.
“We can also manage relatively late acceptance times for pharma shipments before their scheduled departure time,” van Stekelenburg stated. “This is because the placement of our export warehouses are in such close proximity, tarmac transportation can be done last minute to ensure temperature of the products is still correct within the requested temperature range – whether it be controlled cool storage, extended room temperature storage, or controlled room temperature.”
MST has developed its very own handling IT system, MACH (Multiple Aviation Controle Hub), where they do all of their time tracking at all handover points.
Their pharma rooms have temperature-sensitive alarms installed, and officers are on duty in the event of an issue.
The complete export warehouse and the roofed ramp build up unit load device (ULD) storage is also temperature monitored.
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Industry innovations
Looking at the industry at wide, there are many innovations on the way that are likely to have a significant impact on the role of pharmaceutical goods at regional airports.
The use of drones for pharmaceutical delivery within airport facilities could increase the efficiency and speed of distribution, for example. Tech such as the Internet of Things (IoT) could be used to track and monitor pharmaceutical shipments in real-time. On a stakeholder management level, collaboration between regional airports, pharmaceutical companies, logistics providers, and regulatory authorities will be essential to ensure the smooth flow of pharmaceutical goods.
“Here at MST, we have observed a rise in the amount of pharmaceutical shipments using passive packaging to guarantee the quality of the medicines,” van Stekelenburg highlighted. “While we ensure that they remain in our specially designed pharmaceutical cold rooms for as long as possible before they go airside, we would advocate for the increased use of special thermo covers for ULDs to further protect the cargo.”
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