PREMIUM
The long-awaited coronavirus vaccines are now being shipped and distributed across the world with the aviation sector playing a key role in airlifting what will possibly be the largest and most critical vaccine distribution program in recent history.
Earlier this month, the first vaccines against Covid-19 arrived at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport on a scheduled Aeroflot flight from Moscow. Twenty doses of the Sputnik V vaccine were transported to Serbia on the Airbus A321 aircraft for clinical trials. “Transportation of Sputnik V requires special attention at all points of the logistics chain and strict adherence to special temperature requirements at all stages of transportation”, the airport stated. It added, “Vaccines are usually transported and stored at two to eight degrees Celsius. However, in order to avoid disrupting the stability of the Covid-19 vaccine, the first batches of the drug must be kept at ultra-low temperatures. This requires deep freezing during transportation using specialised thermal containers and ice packs”.
The cargo was taken by the main cargo operator at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, to a warehouse, where all the necessary temperature requirements and other storage conditions were observed until the container was loaded onto the aircraft. Special thermal equipment and isothermal containers were used for the transportation of cargo classified as time and temperature sensitive products, along the apron.
Elsewhere, Montenegro Airlines has said it is prepared to transport the Covid-19 vaccine and can use up to 200 kilograms of dried ice per flight. Dry ice is needed to keep the vaccines at the required storage temperature.
On the other hand, Ljubljana Airport does not believe it will play a crucial role in handling the vaccine. General Manager Zmago Skobir said, “So far, no one has contacted us regarding the handling of the vaccine. I assume it will be transported by road. The airport has adequate storage space and cooling chambers for pharmaceutical products, but we do not have storage equipment for minus seventy degrees Celsius, which is required for one of the vaccines”.
Airports around the world are being advised to step up security efforts to protect Covid-19 vaccine shipments amid police warnings of potential targeting from criminal networks. As part of a broader advisory bulletin on vaccine distribution recently sent to members, Airports Council International (ACI) recommended airports liaise with local authorities and conduct risk assessments on shipments given potential threats. “The sensitive nature of the vaccines, the high level of demand there will be for obtaining them and the initial short supply has the potential to generate some attention by persons or groups with malicious intent. Consideration should be given to increased protection of these goods and/or the facilities that will house them. In many cases, this requires coordination with local security authorities”, ACI said. It also advised airports to consider safety precautions given the use of large volumes of dry ice required to meet the vaccines’ ultra-cold requirements. The transportation of dry ice is regulated as it is considered to be a “dangerous good”. Discussions are underway at the United Nations aviation agency to “increase the volume of dry ice that may be transported in a single aircraft, provided strict protocols are followed”, it noted.