As a major air hub and seaport, Singapore has been preparing for vaccine transportation since October. Photo Credit: dnata
The time has come — Singapore has announced that its air cargo hub is
ready for the safe transportation of Covid-19 vaccines to Singapore and
the region.
Spearheading the project is the Changi Ready Task Force, comprising
18 members from across the Changi air cargo community, and co-led by the
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Changi Airport Group
(CAG).
A successful example of public-private collaboration, the task force
has seen government agencies, cargo handlers, airlines and freight
forwarders come together for this monumental task. Since October, the
task force has been examining capabilities and data visibility, as well
as mapping infrastructure and equipment to ensure readiness.
National carrier, Singapore Airlines (SIA) will transport the cargo,
backed by Changi Airport's cargo hub, which is the first and largest
IATA CEIV Pharma-certified community in the Asia Pacific region.
“Over the years, Changi Airport has built a strong track record in
pharmaceutical handling by air, from serving Singapore’s pharmaceutical
manufacturing sector. We have good cold chain handling infrastructure
and capabilities. With our strong air connectivity and SIA’s fleet of
more than 200 passenger aircraft, we can deliver vaccines to multiple
destinations according to demand," said Ho Yuen Sang, director (aviation
industry), CAAS.
The task force will work to meet the various logistical demands of
vaccine distribution, including assessing and ramping the hub’s ability
to handle different types of Covid-19 vaccines — all within a stringent
temperature-controlled environment to maintain the vaccines’ efficacy —
as well as to manage an expected surge in the volume of vaccines to be
transported to the region, once approved by regulators.
"The Changi air cargo hub has always placed a strong emphasis on
pursuing the highest standards in pharmaceutical cargo handling. Given
our efforts in infrastructure upgrades and manpower training over the
years, our air cargo hub is well-poised to handle the transportation of
COVID-19 vaccines," said CAG's managing director for Air Hub
Development.
Cold challenge accepted
dnata and SATS will store the vaccine in temperature-controlled warehouses, with adjustable temperature ranges between -25°C and 25°C.The challenge lies in the deep freezing that's required by some
vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine, for instance, must be kept at minus 70°C.
Changi Airport’s cargo handlers, dnata and SATS, have reportedly been
enhancing their cool chain infrastructure and equipment in recent years
to support a growing demand for temperature-controlled cargo.
dnata’s CoolChain and SATS’ Coolport for instance, consist of
temperature-controlled warehouses with adjustable temperature ranges
between -25°C and 25°C. Combined, they offer an annual cool chain
handling capacity of 375,000 tonnes with the ability to scale up when
required. Dry ice, is also readily available.
The two cargo handlers have also recently introduced cool dollies
(main) – temperature-controlled containers designed specifically for
temperature-sensitive goods to be transported with the highest level of
cool chain integrity and visibility on the tarmac, between the aircraft
and their temperature-controlled warehouses. Complete essential
surveillance systems are also installed to ensure the security of cargo.
Are there enough planes?
In short, yes there is.
Even though the pandemic has decimated air travel demand, Changi has
been keeping busy with charters and scheduled freighter operations. Just
like many other airlines globally, passenger services have been swopped
out for cargo conveyance to alleviate the air cargo capacity crunch.
According to CAAS, as of 1 December 2020, the number of weekly cargo
flights have tripled to more than 950 flights compared to end-2019.
Changi Airport is now connected to about 80 cities by weekly cargo
flights.
Currently, SIA continues to operate multiple weekly flights from each
of the key European pharmaceutical export hubs, such as Amsterdam,
Brussels and Frankfurt, with a regular network within Southeast Asia and
Southwest Pacific. Multiple global integrators — such as DHL, FedEX and
UPS — also have their regional hubs in Singapore, linked directly to
Changi Airport.
As a major seaport, Singapore is also in a position to offer
alternative solutions for pharmaceutical manufacturers to distribute
vaccines into the region.
And since this is Covid-times after all, CAG and SATS is also part of
the global task force Project Sunrays — a joint initiative between The
International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) and Pharma.Aero.
Just like Singapore's SG Clean quality mark, this initiative ensures
transparency between pharma shippers and the global air cargo industry,
guided by measures to ensure the proper handling, storage, and
transportation of high volume Covid-19 vaccines.
In recent months, IATA as well as individual passenger carriers such
as United and Lufthansa Cargo, have been readying for a surge of
pharmaceutical business when Covid-19 vaccines become available.