At Air Cargo Americas this week, IATA made the announcement that Miami International Airport (MIA) has become the first airport in the United States and the second in the world to be named a pharmaceuticals hub under the Center of Excellence for Independent Validators for Pharmaceutical Handling (CEIV-Pharma) program. The only other airport to achieve this designation so far is Belgium’s Brussels Airport.
The Health Technologies Distribution Alliance and Miami-Dade Aviation Department partnered to organize a community of MIA cargo airlines, ground handling companies and freight forwarders that will undergo IATA’s training for the CEIV-Pharma certification. Those companies that have agreed to the training so far include Amerijet International, Brinks, Centurion Cargo, Consolidated Aviation Services and Liaison CAN/US.
Once the CEIV certification is earned, the MIA community can tell customers that pharmaceutical goods transported through the hub will be handled in accordance with the very best practices. The total value of pharma products transported through MIA has increased by 79 percent since 2010. Last year alone, MIA handled pharmaceutical shipments worth US$3.28 billion.
“As the first IATA-designated pharma freight hub in the U.S., we have the goal and expectation of increasing as well as attracting new pharma business from untapped markets across the globe,” said Emilio González, Miami-Dade Aviation Department director.
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