American Airlines Cargo starts construction of pharmaceutical facility in Philadelphia
The facility is expected to be completed this Autumn
American Airlines Cargo has started to build a dedicated pharmaceutical handling facility in Philadelphia, PA. The new 25,000ft2 (2,323m2) facility will cater for a full range of temperature-sensitive products being shipped in and out of the strategically important Northeast pharmaceutical corridor of the US.
Included within the new building will be 6,000ft2 allocated to Controlled Room Temperature (CRT) passive shipments at +15°C and +25°C. In addition, a 3,000ft2 refrigerated area will be available for shipments that need to be maintained in a +2°C to +8°C environment. A deep frozen area will cater to shipments needing to be kept at -10°C to -20°C, and also a zoned active container area with powered charging stations with space for up to 30 electronically controlled units.
The facility is expected to be completed this Autumn and will be equipped with advanced technology for monitoring products with proactive alarming and will be validated to 0.25°C. There will also be full back up power generation to ensure product protection in the event of a power failure.
'This new pharmaceutical centre will enable American Airlines’ provision of state-of-the-art, dedicated services for our life science and healthcare customers. Coupled with our proven handling processes, this facility will complement our existing temperature-sensitive infrastructure enhancements throughout our network,' said Jim Butler, President, American Airlines Cargo.
The opening of the Philadelphia pharmaceutical facility will coincide with the roll-out of a full ExpediteTC cold chain programme across the new American Airlines network.
