Lyon Airport confirms its expertise in pharmaceutical cargo transport by optening IATA CEIV PHARMA CERTIFICATION
Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport’s cargo storage centre, is IATA* CEIV PHARMA certified for the handling of pharmaceutical products at controlled temperatures
Lyon Airport is now one of four airports across the globe to have obtained the certification
To meet the needs of its region - home to a host of pharmaceutical companies -, Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport, managed by VINCI Airports, has opted to make pharmaceutical cargo a key component of its business. Working hand in hand with manufacturers, airlines and specialist operators to handle temperature-sensitive cargo led to the creation of specific facilities, including an extensive cool storage area.
This strategy entered a new phase in February when Lyon Aéroport obtained IATA CEIV Pharma certification (Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics). The certification guarantees the handling process in place for pharmaceutical products, and notably the ability to maintain constant temperatures in the airport’s cool storage units in order to meet the high standards imposed by pharmaceutical laboratories. It also confirms that the airport addresses the needs of freight forwarders and airlines handling the transportation of these highly specific goods.
As a result, Lyon airport's storage facility is one of just four airport centres of excellence worldwide to have been awarded CEIV Pharma certification by IATA.
The large cool storage site operated by Lyon Aéroport stretches over 500 square metres and is split into three areas:
+2°C / +4°C: 370 m2 in modular units
+15°C / +25°C: 96 m2 in two units
-22°C: 15 m2 (one unit)
The location of the specialist warehouses housing the cool storage centre enables smooth transportation of goods with direct access to loading and unloading bays and the airside zone.
The Cargoport area, covering some 150 hectares dedicated to cargo and logistics, is ideally located (less than one kilometre between the aircraft stands and the motorway network), making it quick to access and ensuring efficient air-road operations.
For Tanguy Bertolus, CEO of Lyon Aéroport: “We are proud to have obtained CEIV certification and to be able to play our part in guaranteeing the safe handling of the healthcare products, which pass through Lyon airport. At VINCI Airports, we make all efforts to ensure our airports address the needs of their region. Here in Lyon, we help support the growth of key industries such as pharmaceutical manufacturing.”
“Lyon and its region are amongst the most advanced pharmaceutical hubs in the world. The CEIV Pharma certification obtained by Lyon Aéroport for its storage facility is an important tool for meeting the needs of pharmaceutical companies, as well as transporters, for both standardisation and transparency throughout the pharmaceutical supply chain. This official recognition will bolster Lyon’s reputation as a hub, and we are pleased to congratulate Lyon Aéroport on their success”, stated Frederic Leger, Senior Vice President for Commercial Products and Services at IATA.
*The International Air Transport Association (IATA) supports aviation by drawing up global standards for security, safety, performance and sustainability.
About Lyon Aéroport
Lyon Aéroport manages the operation of Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport for commercial aviation and Lyon-Bron airport, 3rd French airport for business aviation. As the leading airport in the VINCI Airports network in France with almost 9 million passengers in 2022, Lyon-Saint Exupéry offers more than 100 direct destinations in 2023 and is connected to the main international hubs. It is linked to the city centre in 30 minutes by the Rhônexpress tram-train. Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport, VINCI Airports' centre of excellence for innovation, offers recent infrastructure and an innovation strategy focused on a quality passenger experience and operational excellence for airlines. Certified Level 4+ by the ACA (Airport Carbon Accreditation), ISO 14001 and ISO 50001, Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport is developing in total control of its environmental impact.
www.lyonaeroports.com
About VINCI Airports
The world's leading private airport operator, VINCI Airports operates more than 65 airports in 12 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Thanks to its expertise as a global integrator, VINCI Airports develops, finances, builds and manages airports by providing its investment capacity and its know-how in optimizing operational performance, modernizing infrastructures and managing their operations and environmental transition. VINCI Airports is the first airport operator to have committed to a global international environmental strategy in 2016, to achieve the goal of net zero emission across its entire network by 2050.
