The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) and Pharma.Aero have launched Project Sunrays – to establish global guidance for the air cargo industry on the supply chain of pharmaceuticals, especially with regard to the Covid-19 vaccine.
“Project Sunrays – to shine a light on and establish useful guidelines to ensure the proper and safe handling, storage, and transport of the highly expected volume of Covid-19 vaccines. This is in support of our airfreight industry to get ready for this unprecedented challenge and collectively fight against the global pandemic,” Pharma.Aero said in a statement. The name of the project – Project Sunrays – was chosen not only for its positive connotation, but it also implies speed, reliability and visibility in the air transportation of the vaccines to the world.
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to global pharmaceutical supply chains due to airfreight capacity challenges arising from global lockdowns and passenger flights suspension. Pharma shippers have to immediately rethink their supply chain strategies to ensure timely and effective distribution for their products. As pharmaceutical manufacturers race to develop Covid-19 vaccines, they realise the massive logistical challenges ahead of them when the life-saving vaccines would need to be manufactured and distributed to almost 8 billion people worldwide.
In August, TIACA and Pharma.Aero had announced their plans to launch this mission of developing global guidance for the transportation of Covid-19 vaccines. The aim of the programme is to provide the air cargo industry with more clarity of the demands, expectations and quality supply chain requirements, including but not restricted to critical trade lanes, air cargo capacity, handling and storage, track and trace requirements, for the transportation of the vaccines. At the same time, shippers will gain more understanding about the capabilities of the various logistics players. This will ensure that once the vaccine is available in the market, the air cargo industry will be ready to respond to the needs of the shippers and transport vaccines in optimal conditions to all corners of the globe.
