WFS’ Brussels cargo station achieves IATA CEIV pharma certification

Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has revealed that its cargo station in Brussels has achieved IATA CEIV Pharma certification — its first from the company to achieve this type of certification within Europe.

“We are proud to be the first WFS station in Europe with CEIV accreditation and to be supporting our customers and the efforts of Brussels Airport to create the world’s first CEIV-certified airport community,” explained Marc Claesen, regional vice president of WFS in Belgium.

Pharma volumes handled by WFS in Brussels increased by about 170% last year and are expected to continue to rise to a new high by the end of this year. To manage the growth in pharma volumes, the company installed two new dedicated pharma cells in its main warehouse in Brussels, which maintain the integrity of pharma products within 15–25°C and 2–8°C temperature-controlled environments. As part of its successful CEIV certification programme, it has also adopted specific pharma handling procedures and provided training for its staff working in the upgraded facility.

“We are continuing to listen to the needs of our airline customers and to support them with new and enhanced facilities where we see opportunities that offer growth potential for them and for WFS,” added John Batten, WFS’ EVP Cargo Europe Middle East Africa & Asia. “Delivering further improvements to our pharma handling services at major stations is one of our key areas of focus and this will continue in 2018 with investments and GDP or CEIV certifications at more of our locations with high pharma volumes.”

WFS is also in the process of certification for either Good Distribution Practice (GDP) or IATA CEIV Pharma at major locations across its network, also including building new facilities at stations including Paris, Milan and Copenhagen.