DHL Express has gained more capacity to fly temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products, including potentially COVID-19 vaccines, between Europe and the USA with new flights between the certified pharma hubs of Brussels and Miami.
On October 1, DHL-owned cargo airline European Air Transport (EAT) Leipzig began five weekly flights on its new transatlantic route with Airbus A330-200F aircraft capable of carrying 65 tons per flight, Miami International Airport (MIA) said.
The new flights follow launches by DHL Express and Amerijet, which began cargo flights between Brussels and Miami in March and April, respectively. Combined, the airlines now provide 13 weekly flights between the two pharma hubs, according to MIA.
Based at DHL’s air hub in Leipzig, EAT has a fleet of 34 planes, mostly A300-600Fs and B757Fs, making it Germany’s largest cargo airline. It operates to some 50 destinations, mostly in Europe but also in Africa and the Middle East and flies to DHL’s US air hub at Cincinnati as well as to New York JFK and Chicago.
Lester Sola, MIA Director and CEO, said: “We proudly welcome EAT Leipzig to MIA, and the significant capacity it brings to our network of European cargo service. Air cargo has never been more essential to the wellbeing of our community and our country than during this global crisis. As the busiest international freight airport in the U.S., MIA is uniquely positioned to quickly receive and transport life-saving pharma products, vaccines and medical supplies to markets around the world.”
Brussels Airport and MIA were the first two airports in the world designated as Pharma Hub Airports by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and have been working on expanding their shared pharma route for the past decade. IATA’s Pharma Certification Program certifies that pharma products are transported in accordance with global best practices.
Last year, MIA handled a total of $3.7 billion in pharma imports and exports, with Belgium ranking as one of MIA’s top 10 trade partners for pharma imports at $12.7 million. Belgium was also responsible for $30.9 million in pharma exports. Additionally, with 18% of MIA’s pharma imports coming from Europe and 80% of MIA’s exports going to Latin America and the Caribbean by volume, the new Miami-Brussels cargo flights adds more muscle to MIA’s already strong connections with its U.S., European, Latin American and Caribbean markets.
MIA also continues to be America’s busiest airport for international freight, handling 1.9 million tons in 2019.
