Finnair offers shortest flight distance to carry Covid-19 vaccines

The national flag carrier Finnair Cargo is preparing to carry COVID-19 vaccines as several pharmaceutical companies are in the last stages of testing a coronavirus vaccine.

Finnair Cargo was the first airline in the world to receive IATA’s CEIV Pharma certificate in 2015 and it offers the shortest flight distance to all major cities between northern Europe and Asia, said Finnair in a press release on Monday.

“We can offer the shortest flight distance to all major cities between northern Europe and Asia due to our location,” said Finnair Cargo Head of Global Sales Fredrik Wildtgrube.

Speed and product safety are expected to be the most important deciding factors when designing the supply chain for the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Due to our geographic location, our wide network and operational excellence, we can provide the speed required to carry the vaccines,” Wildtgrube added.

For the logistics chain, there is not yet publicly available information on the exact requirements for transporting vaccines.

“It is a known fact that there is always a risk when transporting temperature-sensitive items. That’s why our job is to make sure we protect the product integrity in all possible ways,” said Finnair Cargo Head of Operations Tommi Voss.

“We have a dedicated pharma area to manage the arrival and build-up of temperature-controlled cargo. And our aircraft can be parked right outside the terminal which makes the process fast; temperature-sensitive items can be loaded in the plane in under 30 minutes,” Voss added.

Finnair Cargo has partnered with all major active container manufacturers to further ensure safe transportation of the vaccines.