As the airline industry gears up for its biggest logistics challenge ever, Virgin Atlantic Cargo has introduced a new pharma secure service for all urgent, valuable and vulnerable pharmaceutical and life sciences shipments.
According to managing director of the airline’s cargo division, Dominic Kennedy, the new product will include a 24/7 support team, automatic live status updates, proactive service recovery and periodic integrity checks, temperature-controlled facilities and a dedicated booking team.
“Although the emergence of Covid-19 led to a decrease in passengers travelling, demand to transport cargo remains strong,” he said. “Virgin Atlantic flew its first cargo-only flight on 21st March and has grown a significant programme of scheduled and charter cargo flying.”
The airline partnered with the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS, operating cargo-only flights from Shanghai to London Heathrow, bringing more than 4 million tonnes of essential medical equipment, supplies and PPE into the UK.