The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has certified two of Miami International Airport’s pharma hub partners—Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) and LATAM Cargo—with its Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) in pharma logistics. Miami is the only North American airport to receive the CEIV.
IATA, the trade association for the world’s airlines, created the CEIV program to certify that pharma products are transported in accordance with global best practices. Miami International Airport (MIA) has been committed to life science logistics for years: In 2015, the airport was designated pharma hub by IATA after organizing nine logistics providers—airlines, ground handlers and freight forwarders—to undergo the CEIV program. MIA’s pharma trade has grown from $1.8 billion 2010 to $4.4 billion in 2016.
In addition to the CEIV certifications, LATAM Cargo also completed its IATA certification as a ground handling company. MIA’s CEIV-certified companies also include Amerijet and Swissport, and stations for both DHL Global Forwarding and Kuehne & Nagle (off MIA property).
Earlier this month, WFS earned “Cargo Handler of the Year” at MIA. New developments in 2017 included over $2 million invested in WFS’ 30,000 square-foot Perishables Handling Center infrastructure and a newly-built temperature-controlled pharma facility. WFS also offers its ePic operating system, developed in-house to give customers real-time access to live information on the cargo’s movement. WFS also launched a new screening module to fully integrate the cargo screening process into ePic and to deliver a paperless process that meets the U.S. Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) cargo security requirements.
