Watch Now


Swiss Air Lines flies 14 tons of vaccine to Brazil

Shipment fits profile of China's CanSino vaccine

Swiss WorldCargo shipped COVID vaccines to Brazil on this passenger aircraft. (Photo: SWISS)

Swiss International Air Lines on Friday delivered nearly 2 million doses of finished COVID-19 vaccines to São Paulo from Zurich, the company said.

Spokesman Fabian Mettler declined to name the vaccine that was transported, citing customer privacy restrictions, but the shipment originated in Beijing. CanSino Biologics is located in the Chinese capital and has previously shipped its Ad5-nCoV vaccine to other countries for clinical trials. 

Swiss WorldCargo said the 14 tons of vaccine were carried in 10 Envirotainer RAP e-2 containers, which kept the temperature cold within a range of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius — normal refrigerated temperatures. The temperature requirement also fits the CanSino profile.

Swiss did not indicate what type of plane was used, but data on FlightAware.com showed it was a regularly scheduled passenger flight with an Airbus A340.


Freight forwarder PGL Brazil arranged the shipment on behalf of the Brazilian Butantan Institute. 

The Mexican government is close to finalizing a contract for an initial supply of the CanSino vaccine, a Mexican health ministry official said Thursday

The CanSino vaccine is in late-stage trials and could be distributed early next year if the results are positive. New York-based Pfizer Inc.’s COVID vaccine has received regulatory approval in Mexico and could begin arriving as soon as next week, according to Reuters. 

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.


RELATED NEWS:

AirBridgeCargo transports first shipment of Chinese COVID vaccine

Delta Air Lines moves Pfizer vaccine on passenger flights

American Airlines transports its first COVID vaccine shipments

Pfizer team evaluates higher shipping temperatures for COVID vaccine

Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was runner up for News Journalist and Supply Chain Journalist of the Year in the Seahorse Freight Association's 2024 journalism award competition. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist. He won the group's Environmental Journalist of the Year award in 2014 and was the 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com