This article is part of a series explaining the various types of IATA CEIV certifications.
The first Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) certification program created by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) was CEIV Pharma. The pharmaceuticals program is also the most popular with 509 certified entities, including 44 airlines, 270 freight forwarders, 126 cargo handling facilities and 45 ramp handlers.
CEIV Pharma is designed to ensure that facilities, equipment, operations and personnel meet the standards, regulations and guidelines that pharmaceutical manufacturers require. The aim is to enhance industry knowledge and establish a consistent global standard.
Brussels Airport (BRU) was the first airport where cargo community stakeholders received the CEIV Pharma certification, introduced in 2015. In fact, Brussels Airport developed the program in collaboration with IATA and was the pilot airport with its cargo community approach. The airport together with the pharmaceutical shippers in the BRU pharma shippers’ forum validated the CEIV checklist.
BRU is known for its dedicated infrastructure for the transport and handling of products that require an unbroken cold chain, in particular pharmaceutical and biotech products, and the Belgian pharmaceutical industry is highly export-oriented.
“Manufacturers have high expectations and specific requirements with regard to maintaining the quality of the products and the properties of the active ingredients throughout the logistics chain. They call on transportation services that, on the one hand, ensure the shortest route to the final customer and, on the other hand, maintain the quality of the product through an unbroken cold chain. For these companies, transport by air remains the best possible solution,” according to the BRU website.
To elevate CEIV Pharma certification, IATA recently worked with Pharma.Aero, a collaboration platform, launched by BRU with Miami International Airport and Changi Airport Group and based on the CEIV program. Together, the organizations studied CEIV Pharma, then published their findings this year in a white paper. Frédéric Léger, IATA senior vice president of commercial products and services, says the organizations identified opportunities for the program such as reaching smaller enterprises and better serving underserved markets as well as process enhancements.
