Nov 23, 2016: AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) becomes the first airline in Russia and the seventh in the world to be awarded IATA’s Center of Excellence for Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV Pharma) certification for the global transportation of pharma products via its cargo hub in Sheremetyevo, Moscow.

“Good health is one of our core corporate values so we clearly understand the importance of this certification. IATA CEIV is a confirmation that our quality procedures for the transportation of pharma products, including temperature sensitive goods, fully comply with IATA’s standards. Every player in the pharma supply chain must follow strict procedures to ensure products reach consumers in good time and in perfect condition. We are proud that AirBridgeCargo was able to complete its preparation for CEIV certification within just four months and successfully passed the IATA audit. As part of this, we have also delivered specialist pharma training to 200 of our employees. This is one of the first steps on the way to ABC becoming a leading carrier of pharma goods for our customers around the world.

“We are confident that this confirmation of our competency and expertise will allow us to increase our volumes of pharma products across our international route network, including imports and exports to/from Russia. It will also help us to attract additional transit cargo via Sheremetyevo airport on the Europe-Asia trade lane. Through our team’s efforts aimed at the development and promotion of competitive and high quality services, we also hope to attract new business from customers that currently choose to use ground transportation services,” said Sergey Lazarev, general director of AirBridgeCargo Airlines.

With the certification, Volga-Dnepr Group and Sheremeteyevo International Airport will work together to comply with the CEIV standards to raise the airfreight market for pharma shipments in Russia to a new level, delivering a globally-recognised level of service for customers shipping temperature-sensitive medical goods.

sheremetyevo-international-airport-will-commission-a-new-85-million-cargo-terminal-in-2017 Sheremetyevo International Airport will commission a new $85 million cargo terminal in 2017

"The ambitious target pursued by AirBridgeCargo in creating a pharma hub along with obtaining the CEIV Pharma certification will be supported by the large-scale development programme of Sheremetyevo International Airport. As part of this programme, a new 47,000 square metre automated cargo terminal will be commissioned in 2017. The $85 million terminal will initially be capable of handling up to 380,000 tonnes a year with a future potential to expand to 1 million tonnes a year. We are set on building the largest cargo hub in Europe to meet the growing market needs and create favorable conditions for long-term success of our partner airlines," said Mikhail Vasilenko, CEO of Sheremetyevo International Airport.

On November 22, Andrey Bystrov, Manager Aviation Solutions IATA, Russia branch office officially presented AirBridgeCargo’s IATA CEIV Pharma certificate to Sergey Lazarev.

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