Lufthansa Cargo s pharma hub in Hyderabad goes into operation

Cargo carrier offers customised product for the transport of temperature-sensitive shipments

from India

Lufthansa Cargo's pharma hub for temperature-sensitive airfreight officially went into operation today at Hyderabad Airport in India. Prior to the opening, the location had been certified by the cargo carrier as meeting the complex requirements for the transport of temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals – the first station in Lufthansa Cargo's global network to be awarded this status. For several weeks beforehand, the relevant processes and infrastructure had been thoroughly tested by a team of experts.

"With the certification of the key stations for cold-chain transport in our network we are strengthening our commitment to transporting temperature-sensitive shipments," Christopher Dehio, Senior Manager Global Key Accounts Temperature Control at Lufthansa Cargo, said today in Hyderabad. "In parallel to the certification process, we are further expanding our own fleet of cold-chain containers in Hyderabad."

In December last year, Lufthansa Cargo and the operator of Hyderabad Airport, the GMR Group, announced plans to jointly develop the airport into the key hub in South Asia for the transport of temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals. Today the airport has a state-of-the-art infrastructure that is tailored to the needs of the growing pharmaceuticals industry.

The first two cold-chain transports from Lufthansa Cargo's new pharma hub in Hyderabad got underway today with consignments from the Dr. Reddy and Gland Pharma pharmaceutical groups. The temperature-sensitive medicines were transported to Philadelphia and Chicago and via Frankfurt aboard a Lufthansa Cargo MD-11.

Lufthansa Cargo AG

Lufthansa Cargo ranks among the world's leading cargo carriers. In 2010, the airline transported around 1.8 million

tonnes of freight and mail and clocked up 8.9 billion revenue tonne-kilometres. The Company currently employs about 4,500 people worldwide. Lufthansa Cargo focuses on the airport-to-airport business. The cargo carrier serves some 300 destinations in more than 100 countries with its own fleet of freighters, the belly capacities of passenger aircraft operated by Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines, and an extensive road feeder service network. The bulk of the cargo business is routed through Frankfurt Airport. Lufthansa Cargo is a wholly owned Lufthansa subsidiary.