The payload, courtesy of major specialty generics player SUN Pharma, was packed into four lower-deck pallets and kept at the required 15 to 25 degrees Celsius to ensure the drugs remained effective.
The pallets were taken on an Air India flight to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. Upon landing in Paris, the pallets were transferred to a cool Road Feeder Service (RFS) truck, maintaining the optimum temperature as it rolled through Europe to Brussels.
Exactly 36 hours after leaving Delhi, the drugs arrived at the consignee’s warehouse in a seamless process.
Air India recently received the Good Distribution Practices (GDP) certification for its cargo business, a testament to the airline’s compliance with international guidelines for safe and secure distribution of pharmaceuticals.
Air India Head of Cargo Ramesh Mamidala said: “With the GDP certification, we have now become India’s only carrier with trained staff to manage active pharmaceuticals. These first shipments of our new airport-to-door service is a step forward in progressively pivoting our cargo offering from ‘airport-to-airport’ to world-class ‘airport-to-door’ services, delivered to the highest standards.”
“It’s not just about getting it there, it’s about getting it there right – with precision.”
In the 2024-25 financial year, Air India – which noted that airport-to-door deliveries will be a key part of its cargo business growth – moved over 4,000 tonnes of pharma goods globally.