MIA, Brussels form pharma airport alliance

The Pharma Aero alliance, unveiled at the TIACA Executive Summit in Hollywood, Fla. yesterday, aims to build a network of international cargo hubs dedicated to growing the $300 billion pharmaceutical industry.    Officials from Miami International Airport (MIA) and Brussels Airport yesterday announced a new partnership at a press conference during the TIACA Executive Summit in Hollywood, Fla.
   The alliance, dubbed Parma Aero, aims to build a network of international cargo hubs dedicated to growing the $300 billion pharmaceutical industry. Pharma Aero will host joint industry forums and workshops, share best practices, foster joint route development, research new infrastructure and equipment for handling pharmaceutical products, and create a trade association dedicated to the air pharmaceutical and medical supply business.
   Representatives from MIA and Brussels said they see tremendous potential for growth in pharmaceutical cargo and expect more airports to join the alliance in time. They also see opportunities to create jobs and raise general awareness of the pharmaceutical cargo industry.
   One of the most important issues the alliance will tackle is that of spoilage. Since pharmaceutical cargoes are high value and low weight, losses due to improper handling and other issues increase costs significantly.
   Steven Polmans, head of cargo sales and marketing at Brussels Airport, said an estimated $35 billion in pharmaceuticals are lost due to temperature excursion alone.
   MIA and Brussels are the first airports in the world to be designated as pharmaceuticals freight hubs by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Both have organized their respective pharmaceutical logistic supply chains in accordance with IATA’s CEIV Pharma Certification Program, which will be a requirement for entry into the Pharma Aero alliance for other airports in the future, Polmans said.
   Moving 1.9 million tons of cargo in last year, MIA is the busiest U.S. airport for international freight and the tenth largest worldwide. Pharmaceutical products are one of MIA’s fastest-growing commodity groups, having increased 62 percent in value since 2010 to nearly $3 billion in 2015.
   “We are proud to form this groundbreaking air cargo alliance with Brussels Airport,” said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. González. “As the busiest U.S. airport for temperature-controlled products, MIA has been on the cutting edge of this growth market, and we look forward to collaborating with our colleagues in Brussels to expand both of our pharma trade networks.”
   “In the past three to four years, we have been working very closely with the pharma manufacturers, which has resulted in the IATA CEIV Program we organized at Brussels,” added Polmans. “This continuous dialogue has taught us that there still is a lot of work to be done before we can be considered a true and reliable transport partner for them. We now want to continue strengthening our approach by bringing it to a global level and create end-to-end solutions for the pharma industry. The organization will be very much content-focused, developing solutions and creating transparency in very close cooperation with MIA and the pharma industry.”