News / Europe sees booming pharma air logistics, but needs regulatory consistency  

Photo: BRUCargo

The European pharmaceutical cargo market is robust, largely driven by the region’s increasing role as a production hub, but there are concerns over regulation compliance issues within the EU.  

Major airports like Frankfurt, Schiphol, Charles de Gaulle and Brussels, as well as upcoming gateways like Vienna (VIE), have developed significant handling capabilities for pharmaceutical cargo.  

Brussels (BRU) claims to have won several significant pharmaceutical tenders in the past few years and increased its catchment area far beyond its border, making BRU currently the largest pharmaceutical export hub out of Europe, with roughly 17% of its exports being pharma shipments.  

“Our focus right now is strengthening the total offering of services for all pharmaceutical stakeholders at BRU,” Samuel Speltdoorn, senior cargo business and network development manager at Brussels Airport Co, told The Loadstar.  

The Belgian airport continues to invest in its logistics area, BRUcargo and, according to Mr Speltdoorn, is in close contact with pharmaceutical players to ensure it is ready for future product launches and advances in the medical arena.    

In Germany, Frankfurt Airport (FRA) is offering more than 14,000 sq metres of exclusive and certified pharma handling space. Since it is a less seasonal commodity, airport officials believe these capacities are sufficient for the roughly 125,000 tonnes of pharma handled annually, and still hold reserves. 

“The cargo community has put in a lot of effort in the past few years to mitigate handling issues in periods of exceptional demand,” said an FRA spokesperson. Indeed, last month, FRA introduced a new “dashboard” to provide users with comprehensive cargo information in real time, adding to its cargo community system that monitors potential congestion, delays and other inefficiencies that might impact time-critical pharma delivery.   

Meanwhile, VIA has seen increasing tonnage through its pharma centre, handling 3,079 tonnes between January and September this year. An increase  of 18% on the same period last year. 

“The industry has a great demand for shipments of high-value pharmaceuticals with excellent handling quality and short lead times,” said Michael Zach, SVP ground handling and cargo operations. He added that the airport was growing steadily. 

And Vienna has no congestion issues, which has enabled cargo traffic to grow successfully, added Mr Zach. 

Reportedly, however, some forwarders have experienced lengthy customs procedures causing bottlenecks for pharma goods at some airports, but VIE and BRU refute such claims at their stations.   

Mr Zach said: “It is important for us to work closely with the freight forwarders and customs authorities. For us, the key to success is good preparation and clarity about the necessary formalities. It is essential to clarify which steps are required in order to clear a pharmaceutical shipment.” 

FRA sees a strain on customs resources because of growing ecommerce imports, but in response, the general customs directorate has approved additional positions in the main customs office in Frankfurt.  

Another issue is the varying adherence to regulatory compliance by some authorities within the EU. According to BRU’s Mr Speltdoorn, there is an “uneven playing field in terms of security”. He claimed the Belgian aviation authority strictly followed  EASA regulations, unlike some other EU member states. 

Mr Speltdoorn added: “In order to create a level playing field for all airport communities within Europe, each member state’s civil aviation authority should adhere to the same level of strictness, which is not always the case today.”