LOT Cargo improves cold chain logistics with hybrid containers
LOT Cargo, a freight division of Poland’s national carrier, will use SkyCell’s hybrid containers for transporting pharmaceuticals. These boxes will allow the airline to improve its cold chain logistics by offering delivery to long-haul destinations.
LOT Cargo is continuing to enhance its opportunities in delivering medicines and pharmaceutical products such as the COVID vaccine. After obtaining the IATA CEIV Pharma certificate in July 2020 that confirms the capability to transport temperature-sensitive goods, it has achieved another success in this area. This week the Polish airline concluded an agreement with SkyCell, a Swiss provider of hybrid containers.
“The signing of an agreement with SkyCell, which allows us to use the hybrid containers for transport, is the next stage in the development of LOT Cargo’s offer and a step towards building a hub in Warsaw for pharmaceutical shipments distributed worldwide. The pharmaceutical industry is a market with unique requirements, for which safe, direct, and fast transport is crucial. Thanks to the appropriate technological facilities and a well-developed network of long-haul connections made with a modern fleet, we are able to meet these requirements immediately,” said Michał Grochowski, Director of Cargo and Mail Bureau at LOT Polish Airlines.
SkyCell’s hybrid containers
LOT Cargo transports medicines and pharmaceutical goods in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircrafts. The front cargo compartment is equipped with a temperature control system, which effectively combines two essential elements: the onboard temperature control installations and containers. The hybrid boxes from SkyCell allow the airlines to secure several temperature grades from -80 to +25 degrees Celsius. Due to an efficient cooling technology, they are able to maintain steady temperatures for an average of 202 hours (8.4 days) and with the possibility to prolong the runtime through automatic self-recharging in a cooling chamber or reefer truck.
SkyCell’s hybrid containers are also equipped with an IoT monitoring service, track temperature conditions to ensure sensitive medicine is protected even under extreme conditions. They are easy to handle and self-charges with no need for plugs or dry ice, which reduces the potential for human error. SkyCell designed its hybrid boxes as the lightweight and recyclable units to reduce carbon footprint.