Emirates transports 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines
Dubai: Emirates SkyCargo, freighter division of Emirates airline has transported more than 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines on its aircraft. The air cargo carrier has achieved this historic milestone within a span of 18 months from the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines trialled in October 2020. More than 4,200 tonnes of COVID-19 vaccines, equivalent to over 1 billion doses, have been moved to over 80 destinations on over 2,000 Emirates flights. Close to two-thirds of the 1 billion doses were transported to developing countries.
As early as August 2020, Emirates SkyCargo was one of the first global air cargo carriers to begin mapping out the global logistics for the movement of potential vaccines for COVID-19 transport. In October 2020, Emirates announced that it would be setting aside a dedicated GDP certified airside hub for transport of COVID-19 vaccines. During the same month, working with its logistics partners, the cargo division of Emirates transported trial shipments of COVID-19 vaccines through Dubai.
In January 2021, Emirates SkyCargo teamed up with leading Dubai-based companies to form the Dubai Vaccine Logistics Alliance to speed up distribution of vaccines through Dubai to developing countries. In February 2021, the carrier signed an MoU with UNICEF to prioritise transport and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in support of the COVAX initiative.
In June 2021, Emirates SkyCargo expanded its pharma cool chain infrastructure at Dubai International Airport, allowing it to store an additional estimated 60-90 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines at any one point of time.
Emirates SkyCargo is one of the leading global air cargo carriers for the transport of temperature sensitive pharmaceutical cargo. In addition to COVID-19 vaccines, the carrier transports other critical life-saving medicines and treatments on its flights to more than 140 destinations across six continents. An estimated 200 tonnes of pharmaceutical cargo are flown every day on Emirates’ aircraft.
