Qatar airways cargo sets milestone for vaccine delivery

Qatar Airways Cargo has shipped over 30 million COVID-19 immunizations to Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The Middle Eastern carrier hopes to send additional cargoes after the Indian government eased the export restriction on COVID-19 vaccination late last year.

India was one of the first markets to receive Qatar Airways Cargo's pharmaceuticals service in January 2014. In terms of volume, the Indian pharmaceutical market is the third-largest in the world, and the country supplies almost 60% of global vaccine demand.

Since then, the airline has expanded to become one of India's premier freight airlines. With an approximate 18% market share in India, a Qatar Airways Cargo aircraft departs the nation with roughly every fifth pharmaceutical consignment.

"The Indian pharmaceutical business is incredibly important to Qatar Airways Cargo," said Ehab Matta, Qatar Airways Cargo's senior manager of regional cargo for the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and Pakistan.

We work directly with India's leading vaccine makers thanks to our global ties with international and key local freight forwarders. After being cleared for carriage on Qatar Airways aircraft, Hyderabad (HYD) was the first station in Qatar Airways Cargo's network to deploy Envirotainer's new Releye RLP containers.

Hyderabad holds the national record for the most active pharmaceutical containers transferred on a single plane, with 11 ULDs. With around 2,500 of the country's 3,000 pharmaceutical enterprises and 10,500 manufacturing units, Hyderabad is India's principal pharmaceutical export hub. Cities such as Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai play important roles due to the existence of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in India.

"India manufactures and exports both routine immunizations and COVID-19 vaccines," Matta said, adding that "ten COVID-19 vaccines have been licensed for use in India, while vaccines manufactured in India have been approved in over 138 countries worldwide."

"We have distributed over 30 million COVID-19 vaccines across Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, Europe, and Asia through our network. We anticipate that things will go more quickly now that the Indian government has withdrawn the export ban on COVID-19 vaccine, which was lifted late last year."

"Our involvement in the UNHCR immunization program through Kuehne & Nagel demonstrates our commitment. Because of the airline's increasing position in aiding healthcare through charter flights and the supply of various forms of help, relief supplies, and vaccines" Qatar Airways Cargo named Sunita Sanghvi as regional cargo sales manager — Products.

Sanghvi, who joined the airline in March of this year in Mumbai, is responsible for pharmaceutical product development in India and the rest of the subcontinent.

He will work directly with regional sales teams, clients, and partners to give focused attention, and enhanced, and tailored solutions in response to rising pharma demand.

"However," Matta pointed out, "the vast majority of our workers across all Indian stations are trained in our pharmaceutical product and are aware of commercial and operational requirements, as well as particular consumer requests."

"Our largest resource of pharmaceutical expertise is based in India," he says, adding that the Doha headquarters' central product management staff helps the Indian teams.