Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) has launched a program for transporting high-value, highly sensitive pharmaceutical products. The airline has signed a global lease agreement with Envirotainer for using its active temperature-controlled air cargo containers, which is the first time an airline in Japan has developed a specific product based on the use of Envirotainer containers, NCA reports.
NCA Pharmacare is NCA's priority freight product, which provides a specialized handling based on tailored SOP (Standard Operational Procedure). This SOP is based on customer needs for temperature-sensitive shipments, 24 hours contacts in case of emergency, and container condition checks at each stage of handling in the airports, according to a press release from NCA. Customers can specify the internal temperature of Envirotainer container and the ambient temperature of cargo hold of the aircraft.
NCA has been testing the service for 12 months using Envirotainer’s RKN e1, RKN t2, RAP t2, and CLD t2 containers and has received extremely positive feedback from its customers, it reports.
NCA is familiar with Envirotainer's solutions. “We have previously purchased 60 containers so we are very familiar with the quality of Envirotainer’s product," said Kuniaki Inaoka, senior manager, Cargo Business Division of NCA, in a press release. "This time we are leasing containers, but our decision to work with Envirotainer is also based on its network of stations, handling procedures, quality and accreditation programs, and the company’s ability to increase our knowledge in the carriage of high-value, sensitive life science products.”
Niklas Lönnkvist, director healthcare, Asia Pacific & Middle East of Envirotainer, added in the press release: “Our ability to offer NCA a total solution means we will be working closely together to develop the share of pharma products moving by air cargo to and from Japan. There is a considerable opportunity in Japan for the development of air cargo transportation of pharma in active containers as the majority of products are still transported using passive insulated boxes or no special packaging.“
