Qatar Airways Cargo has joined Validaide Capabilities Platform as a premium member.

Through the membership, the cargo carrier is able to digitally manage and share its station capabilities for pharmaceuticals and healthcare products. Customers will be able to easily review the airline’s pharma handling capabilities at all the airports throughout its network.

Qatar Airways Cargo has also joined the Advisory Board of Validaide which allows it to contribute to further developments to the platform and customise its features to benefit the end user. The statement said that Qatar Airways Cargo and Validaide both pursue digitalisation projects within the broader air cargo industry.

Qatar Airways’ chief officer of cargo, Guillaume Halleux, said: “Digitalisation is the need of the hour. Our premium membership with Validaide, the leading digital platform for special cargo gives access to our customers, logistics providers and pharmaceutical shippers to easily define and search for special cargo handling capabilities.

“Customers can also create lane assessments when transporting pharmaceuticals on our flights. We are easing the way for our customers do business with us, providing convenience and speed to market, which are the key benefits of going digital.”

The airline’s product QR Pharma provides temperature-controlled air freight for pharmaceuticals, offering both active and passive solutions in cold chain logistics. Trained staff at every pharma destination ensure the cool chain is unbroken. In December 2020, Qatar Airways Cargo was awarded IATA’s Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) certification in pharmaceutical logistics at its hub in Doha.

Qatar Airways Cargo says that it has invested considerably in its pharma solution through quality handling, infrastructure, facilities, people and procedures at each of its pharma stations including the Doha hub, adhering to high operating standards for transporting temperature-controlled products. Due to this, it claims that the cargo carrier’s volumes for pharmaceutical shipments has grown by 18 per cent in 2020 over 2019.

Validaide CEO, Eelco de Jong added: “There is a strong need in the industry for collaboration and data sharing as transparency on transport and storage conditions is essential for the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. We are very happy to add Qatar Airways Cargo to the Advisory Board as we share a strong support for collaboration and transparency in the industry.”