Brussels Airport introduced the “Airside Pharma Transporter” last year at Brucargo, the cargo department of the airport. The airport developed this transporter for the pharmaceutical sector in our country. During the transport of, for example, medicines and vaccines, it is important that the packages have and retain a certain temperature so that the active ingredients in this drugs remain active.
“The pharmaceutical branch is one of the most important sectors in our country and has a large added value for our economy. It is therefore essential that we offer the required customised service when they export their products. We innovated earlier with IATA by developing the CEIV guarantee certificate for the cold chain; our airport was also the first to achieve this worldwide standard. With the new ‘Airside Pharma Transporter’ we have developed an efficient product that, thanks to the solar panels, is also extremely environmentally friendly”, says Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport Company.
The “Airside Pharma Transporter” is a trailer on which a refrigerated unit with insulated walls is mounted. What is really innovative is the technology that allows the temperature and location of the refrigerated transporter to be monitored in real time. Since the introduction of the “Airside Pharma Transporter” at the end of last year, the system has been further refined. The transporter can keep the contents of the refrigerated unit at the required temperature for a long time, thanks to the innovative insulation and cooling system. Even when the transporter is on the tarmac in the burning sun.
The most visible innovation is the installation of solar panels on the appliance, which allows the refrigerated unit in the transporter to operate autonomously for several days without requiring electricity or any other form of energy. The refrigerated unit also reaches the required temperature much faster and this means that the unit can be used several times a day and the shippers of pharmaceutical products can work more efficiently. Nor is it necessary to bring the refrigerated unit down to temperature far in advance.
The transport vehicle for the tarmac is such an enormous success that other airports are now showing interest in this innovative means of transport. This is why Brussels Airport presented the transporter at the TIACA Air Cargo Forum in Paris, the annual forum for the air cargo industry, which this year is being held in Paris.