Air Canada Cargo has announced it will be collaborating with GTA dnata, at its Toronto Pearson International Airport hub, to service pharmaceutical shipments.
Effective February 26, 2019, pharmaceutical shipments that are booked with Air Canada Cargo will be handled at GTA dnata.
All shipments booked as general pharma (APH) or priority pharma (PPH) will be handled at the DNATA warehouse for import and export. Shipments that are general DG or priority DG will need to have the proper Freight Waybill (FWB) transmitted from origin with the temperature-sensitive Pharma shipments code (PIL) in the Special Handling field on the Air Waybill (AWB). If this is not done, or the shipment does not need to be in a temperature-controlled environment, then the shipment will go to Air Canada (Sublocation code 3074) as normal.
It is the importer/exporter’s responsibility to work with the shipper at origin to ensure shipments are booked as the correct commodity, and that the proper special handling codes are entered (if applicable).
According to an Air Canada Cargo update, GTA dnata is certified by the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV Pharma) for its pharma handling processes and facilities. The provider is also fully equipped for handling temperature sensitive shipments in varying environments, and utilizes advanced monitoring technology.
Toronto is Air Canada Cargo’s largest global hub, with more pharmaceutical shipments flowing through than anywhere else in their network.