AFKLM Cargo operates over 5k cargo-only flights during pandemic

August 28, 2020: Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Air France KLM Martinair Cargo has operated more than 5,500 cargo-only flights. AFKLMP Cargo currently offers a network spanning more than 95 long-haul destinations. It has ensured that healthcare facilities as well as private citizens have access to medicines, medical equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE).

The airline has invested in infrastructure at both of its hubs, Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS), and fully merged the booking and service options via digital portal myCargo, offering the transparency customers need. It not only offers all required infrastructure and capabilities at its hubs, but also has partnerships with GHAs at all relevant pharma destinations, providing state-of-the-art pharma handling services.

GertJan Roelands, SVP of sales and distribution at AFKLMP Cargo said, “Shipping pharma and other medical-related goods is one of our core activities and a strategic priority. From the start, we prioritised pharma commercially and operationally. At AFKLMP Cargo, we have a department that is fully dedicated to pharma and healthcare solutions. With this in mind, Air France and KLM were among the first airlines to obtain IATA CEIV certification.”

Recently, the airline formed a taskforce to define what steps need to be taken to help ship Covid-19 vaccines. Working in close consultation with the pharma industry and related forwarders, it assessed specific requirements for shipping Covid-19 vaccines.

Enrica Calonghi, global head of pharmaceutical logistics at AFKLMP Cargo stated, “AFKLMP Cargo is ready to play a key role in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, thereby helping to ensure that as many people as possible around the globe will have access to vaccines in these challenging times.”