Airlines scramble to prepare for ultra-cold COVID-19 vaccine
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[November 18, 2020]
By Laurence Frost and Ilona Wissenbach
PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Airlines are scrambling to prepare
ultra-cold shipping and storage facilities to transport COVID-19
vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna, whose doses, which require
deep freezing, are likely to be among the first to be distributed.
A recent survey by an air cargo association and a drug shippers' group
found only 15% of industry participants felt ready to transport goods
near the minus 70 degrees Celsius (-94°F) required by the Pfizer Inc <PFE.N>
vaccine, while around 60% could meet Moderna Inc's <MRNA.O> less
stringent -20°C requirement.
Typically, airlines use containers with cooling materials such as dry
ice to transport pharmaceutical products, but some don't have
temperature controls, making products susceptible to unforeseen events
such as flight delays.
Airlines are now considering options ranging from a large plug-in
freezer that can cost about as much as a small car to a multi-layered
canister that uses liquid nitrogen to ship vaccines requiring a deep
freeze.
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The potential demand for such high-end packaging has helped shares of
cold container specialists such as Cryoport Inc <CYRX.O> and
Germany-based va-Q-tec <VQTG.DE> more than double in recent months.
"With direct contracts with five temperature-controlled container
manufacturers, Korean Air has secured sufficient quantities of
containers. For now, we are in the process of signing contracts with
other container manufacturers," a Korean Air <003490.KS> spokesperson
said.
Air France-KLM <AIRF.PA> said it was gearing up for a test run with one
of the drugmakers - it declined to say which - that will see dummy
samples shipped at ultra-low temperatures, likely via Amsterdam's
Schiphol airport.
The drill will use boxes carrying as many as 5,000 doses each, all
cooled by dry ice, Air France-KLM special cargo manager Béatrice
Delpuech told Reuters. Later shipments may also use larger ultra-cold
containers rented from va-Q-tec.
"They need to validate the entire logistics chain from end to end,
including the air freight segment," Delpuech said. "We have a dedicated
task force examining every step of the process with all our teams, to
make sure there are no hitches anywhere."
DRY ICE LIMITS
But one difficulty with vaccine transport is that airplanes can only
carry a limited amount of dry ice - frozen carbon dioxide - as it turns
into gas over time, displacing the breathable air in the cabin.
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All widebody planes can carry a maximum of around 1 tonne of dry ice in
refrigerated and insulated containers, according to a DHL white paper on
vaccine transport.
"Depending on the type of aircraft, there are usually not more than a
few containers on board at the same time," said Joachim von Winning,
chief executive of Air Cargo Community Frankfurt.
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![](../images/111820PIX/busine53.jpg)
A worker passes a line of freezers holding coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) vaccine candidate BNT162b2 at a Pfizer facility in Puurs,
Belgium in an undated photograph. Pfizer/Handout via REUTERS.
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For an alternative, Deutsche Post AG's <DPWGn.DE> DHL has been using Cyroport's
capsule containers, which use liquid nitrogen to keep goods as cool as -150C for
up to 10 days to support clinical vaccine trials, said Patricia Cole, DHL Global
Forwarding's global head of temperature management solutions.
Although it is relatively a small-scale solution, with only hundreds of vials in
each container, broader preparations have already begun.
Pfizer, which is working with DHL, FedEx Corp <FDX.N> and United Parcel Service
Inc <UPS.N> for vaccine distribution in the United States, said on Monday it has
launched a pilot delivery programme in four states to help it refine its
nationwide and global shipping plan.
The U.S. drugmaker has also developed temperature-controlled and GPS-enabled
boxes that use dry ice to keep its vaccine at around -70C for up to 10 days.
But cold-chain solutions providers such as Sweden's Envirotainer say so-called
active containers, which use electric motors to cool their contents, are safer
and more cost-effective.
A Envirotainer spokesman said that its fleet of active temperature-controlled
containers was twice that of its competitors and that it was preparing to
increase its capacity by 50%.
Va-Q-tec also said this month that it would significantly expand its container
fleet over the coming months in anticipation of orders COVID-19 vaccine
transport.
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Airlines have become more reliant on cargo for revenue this year as passenger
numbers plunged amid pandemic-related travel restrictions.
Accenture's Seabury Consulting estimates the global roll-out of a vaccine will
generate 65,000 tonnes of air freight, which is five times the air vaccine trade
in 2019.
But airlines think the potential for the vaccine to allow a return to normal
travel is most important, KLM chief executive Pieter Elbers said at a CAPA
Centre for Aviation event on Nov. 11.
"I think overall for the entire industry, the vaccine is going to be much more
important than the cargo revenues it would bring," he said.
(Reporting by Laurence Frost in Paris and Ilona Wissenbach in Frankfurt;
additional reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, Toby Sterling in
Amsterdam, Alexander Cornwell in Dubai, Heekyong Yang in Seoul, Helena Soderpalm
in Stockholm and Jamie Freed in Sydney; writing by Jamie Freed; Editing by
Miyoung Kim and Gerry Doyle)
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