Carrying Hope for Humanity: CSMIA transports international shipment of Covishield Vaccine to Brazil and Morocco
Facilitates delivery of 4Mn doses to Brazil and Morocco
By A K Sahoo
Mumbai, Jan.22: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) initiated the international shipment of Covishield vaccine to Brazil and Morocco in the early hours of January 22. The Covishield vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, departed from CSMIA carrying 2 million doses to Brazil via Emirates Sky Cargo and 2 million doses to Morocco onRoyal Air Maroc. In support of the Covid-19 vaccination drive, CSMIA is the first airport in the country to export the vaccine to international destinations; as of January 22, CSMIA facilitated the movement of over 14.17 million doses of the Covishield vaccine across various international and domestic destinations.
As a premier pharma hub of the country, CSMIA has placed a well-defined process for the faster turnaround of COVID-19 vaccine EXIM and transshipment movements. Given the requirement for timely and temperature-controlled movement of the vaccine, the existing infrastructure at CSMIA enables the airport to offer a continuous temperature-controlled movement and seamless processing of pharma goods through the airport. The SOPs implemented by the airport in anticipation of the vaccine distribution saw the terminal register a cargo processing time of just 23 minutes, right from goods acceptance to dispatch at the ramp.
CSMIA handles largest portion of EXIM pharmaceutical air cargo movements in the country and has a vast experience in handling sensitive pharmaceuticals shipments. The airport has handled 40 to 50 tons of vaccines per day. The airport is home to Asia’s largest temperature-controlled Export Pharma Excellence Centre, a facility that has a one-time holding capacity of 800 tons for 2-8 degrees and can cater to cargo meant for seven freighters at a time, as well as a Pharma-dedicated Import Cold Zone offering 860 tons of +15 to +25 degrees storage and cold chambers offering 300 tons of +2 to +8 degrees storage. CSMIA is also India’s largest hub for ‘Envirotainer’ movements with over 60 power outlets for processing Pharma active containers; CSMIA’s “Envirotainer Station” has processed over 2500 active containers within the airport and distribution to major Pharma gateway airports across the country. With such state-of-the-art facilities, CSMIA is well equipped to handle & distribute the vaccine consignments in India and the world.
Currently CSMIA witnesses on average around 14 to 15 cargo flights per day and handles an average of 800 tons of export and 700 tons of import cargo in a day. CSMIA is well connected globally and caters to over 500 destinations, with 27% of its overall exports to Europe, 20% to America and 20% to African countries. The airport offers direct cargo connectivity to major destinations such as Europe, America, Middle East, Africa, Japan, China, Hongkong and Singapore, and 60 domestic cities wherein it connects within 10 hours to Europe, 15 hours to America, 5.5 hours to the Far East and 5.5 hours to African destinations. With real-time temperature updates, trained & experienced workforce, and stringent security arrangements, CSMIA is committed to support the Pharma, Air cargo community and initiatives of Government of India for the efficient and seamless transportation of the COVID-19 vaccine across all borders.
