Cathay Cargo delivers temperature-sensitive pharma shipments in Vietnam

As a trusted expert in air cargo solutions, Cathay Cargo is committed to giving every shipment the attention it deserves.

In pharmaceutical logistics, where precision, safety, and regulatory compliance are paramount, Cathay Pharma stands out as a specialised air freight solution, purpose-built for sensitive medical products such as vaccines, biologics, speciality drugs, medical devices, and clinical trial samples. It utilises both active and passive temperature-controlled container solutions, ensuring strict cold-chain management throughout the journey.

This is enhanced by 24/7 real-time monitoring with Ultra Track technology to constantly track temperature, humidity, and other environmental indicators, ensuring transparency and cargo safety at every stage. Integrated with the Cathay Priority solution, Cathay Pharma offers expedited handling and guaranteed capacity, preserving product integrity, reducing storage time, and ensuring timely delivery for temperature-sensitive shipments.

Proudly recognised for its expertise in the field and sound knowledge of temperature-sensitive transportation, Cathay Cargo lead the way in transporting COVID-19 vaccines from Australia to Vietnam in 2022. The shipments comprised vaccines from several renowned pharmaceutical brands around the world, each with different temperature requirements for storage and transport.

In addition to the challenges of handling vaccines with distinct requirements, the sheer number of vaccine doses added another layer of logistical complexity, including the challenge of accommodating the equivalent of three-and-a-half articulated trucks’ worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies, much of which had to be trucked to Sydney. Cathay Cargo’s Cathay Pharma solution, combined with its broader suite of specialised services, delivered comprehensive care and reassurance to customers, enabling the safe and timely transport of pandemic supplies from Australia to Vietnam and the Southeast Asia region.

High-risk, sensitive shipments demand the highest standards, with zero margin for error. Cathay Cargo upholds this commitment through its International Air Transport Association CEIV Pharma certification, ensuring every stage of the healthcare logistics journey meets globally recognised standards. From aircraft and ramp handling to the state-of-the-art $751 million Cathay Cargo Terminal at Hong Kong International Airport, and across certified stations in its network, Cathay Cargo delivers end-to-end compliance and reliability.

Cathay Pharma goes beyond safely managing pharmaceutical shipments from Vietnam to the world, it delivers a comprehensive solution combining high-value services, advanced monitoring systems, and a seamlessly connected global network. Among its 200 destinations worldwide, Cathay Cargo also operates a global network of over 70 dedicated pharma stations, ensuring efficient connections and specialised transport services for pharmaceuticals on major routes.

This pharma station network includes pharmaceutical transshipment hubs equipped with cold storage, temperature control equipment, and operations following Good Distribution Practice standards, maintaining product quality from origin to destination.

With extensive flight routes from Hong Kong to major pharmaceutical hubs such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Zurich, New York, Chicago, and Toronto, Cathay Pharma plays a vital role in connecting global research, production, and distribution centres. At the same time, Hong Kong’s strategic location enables access to half the world’s population within five hours, crucial when time is of the essence.

Together with the Pharma Handling Centre, the Cathay Cargo Terminal in Hong Kong offers one of the most comprehensive cold-chain storage and handling facilities in the world, making Cathay Cargo a leader in pharmaceutical logistics handling, ensuring a seamless, secure, and uninterrupted supply chain.

The Pharma Handling Centre provides an unmatched quality of service for temperature-sensitive shipments and is both the newest and the largest dedicated pharma-handling facility at the airport. The 1,250 square metre facility comes in addition to 1,360 sq.m of existing cold storage space for cold chain shipments, which offers rooms ranging from -25 oC to +25 oC for different types of shipment. It is backed by MobiFresh: mobile temperature-controlled storage units with temperature and location tracking.

Partnerships with global service providers further strengthen Cathay Pharma’s capabilities, offering customers expanded possibilities. With six container suppliers, Cathay has the largest choice of packaging in Asia, covering a wide product temperature range of -80 °C to +40 °C. Since 2024, Cathay Cargo has partnered with Envirotainer to make real-time shipment-status data from its Releye RLP and RAP temperature-controlled containers available to customers via the Cathay Cargo website through an API connection. This enhanced visibility, especially valuable for Cathay Pharma shipments, includes key metrics such as internal temperature, battery level, location, and shipment milestones, and complements the existing Envirotainer Control Tower service.

Shipments using Envirotainer’s Releye containers are monitored by Cathay Cargo’s Operations Control Centre, which takes proactive steps to ensure shipment integrity, just as it already does with shipments equipped with Cathay Cargo’s next-generation Ultra Track solution.

Releye containers use cellular transmission to broadcast data in real time, while stored data from the flight segment of the journey is transmitted as soon as the container is in range of cellular towers on the ground.

Cathay Cargo, the cargo division of the Cathay Group, is steadily asserting its global position through a robust fleet, an expansive route network, and a sharp market strategy with its Vietnam presence.

Cathay Fresh, Cathay Cargo's specialised cold-chain transportation solution, was designed to preserve the maximum freshness of perishable goods such as fruits, vegetables, seafood, pharmaceuticals, and meat.

Amid the trends of globalisation and the restructuring of supply chains in the post-pandemic era, the demand for transporting technically sophisticated cargo such as aircraft engines, semiconductor machinery, super-heavy freight, and vehicles has surged significantly.