Lufthansa develops new product for transport of Covid-19 vaccines

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For the transport of pharmaceuticals, three temperature ranges (based on the ambient temperature) are available in airfreight: Controlled room temperature for shipments with transport temperature range of +15°C to +25°C, cool storage for shipments with transport temperature range of +2°C to +8°C and deep frozen storage for shipments with transport temperature range of -10°C or below. By using special refrigerated containers and means, such as dry ice, the most diverse requirements of pharmaceutical manufacturers can be met. Accordingly, Lufthansa Cargo also has experience with transports in the ultra-frozen range (-70°C).

"In 2019, we transported around 100,000 tonnes of pharmaceuticals. We are ready to make another important contribution to overcoming the pandemic by distributing the vaccines worldwide," said Peter Gerber, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo.

The specific packaging, transport, handling and storage requirements of the various Covid-19 vaccines, and the quantities to be transported, by which routes and over which periods of time, are partly still open. The actual transport routes of the vaccines depend largely on the future production sites for approved vaccines and the respective recipient markets. Lufthansa Cargo says it is able to respond flexibly to shifts in demand and, if necessary, the provision of additional belly capacity can also be examined.