Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Airlines preparing to transport coronavirus vaccines face 'hugely complex logistical challenges'

Airlines preparing to transport coronavirus vaccines face 'hugely complex logistical challenges'

'We must be prepared for when a vaccine is ready,' says CEO of International Air Transport Association

The airline industry is readying its fleet to help deliver shipments of the forthcoming COVID-19 vaccines pending approval from health officials.

American Airlines, United and Lufthansa are some of the carriers that have since shared plans to fly the vaccines to their designated destinations on cargo flights, amid mounting logistical challenges for the safe transport and handling of those vaccines.

American Airlines on Monday became the latest carrier to reveal details of test operations designed to transport vaccines from Miami to South America, which began in mid-November.

“The trial flights simulate the conditions required for the COVID-19 vaccine to stress test the thermal packaging and operational handling process that will ultimately ensure it remains stable as it moves across the globe,” wrote the airline in a news release on Monday.

This past Friday, United Airlines had also delivered shipments of the Pfizer vaccine candidate to multiple destinations, with the intention of having them available at distribution centers as soon as Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval is granted, per The Wall Street Journal. The airline was also given permission to transport five times more dry ice than is normally allowed by the FAA, in order to ensure the vaccines are stored at the correct temperature.

In a statement to Fox News, Delta Air Lines confirmed that the carrier had been preparing for the cold shipment of vaccines since "earlier in the summer," and is currently "in discussions with numerous government and industry stakeholders to understand the supply chain requirements for the shipment of COVID-19 vaccines across the globe."

Southwest, too, has also reportedly been looking to use its cargo operation to help in any way it can, per King 5 News.

“Delivering billions of doses of a vaccine that must be transported and stored in a deep-frozen state to the entire world efficiently will involve hugely complex logistical challenges across the supply chain,” said Alexandre de Juniac, the CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in a press release issued in November.

“While the immediate challenge is the implementation of COVID-19 testing measures to re-open borders without quarantine, we must be prepared for when a vaccine is ready.”

The IATA, which counts around 290 of the world’s carriers as members, had also identified a number of other challenges for distributing the vaccine, including concerns over the refrigeration capacity of distribution facilities on the delivering end of the shipments, as well the availability of air-connectivity channels across international borders and the requirement to keep shipments secure from “tampering and theft.”

Other challenges include the transportation of vaccines in cargo areas of aircraft that are not primarily designed for the transport of cargo. (Many major commercial airlines move cargo in the unused areas of its passenger cargo space.) Many of the larger planes that usually operate internationally had been grounded amid the pandemic, too.

Across the globe, larger airline operations, such as those represented by the Lufthansa Group, Air France-KLM and Korean Air, have been readying their freight operations to carry the vaccines, some for months now.


“It’s going to be a major logistics challenge,” Air France cargo chief Christophe Boucher said, per Reuters.

As noted by American Airlines, however, tasks such as this are not completely “new” to the industry, as airlines have stepped up to deliver personal protective equipment and testing equipment since the beginning of the pandemic.

“Despite the significant challenges the airline industry is facing, we’re working night and day to put our greatest strengths to use during this time of need — our network, our aircraft and our incredible team,” said Jessica Tyler, the president of American Airlines’ cargo operations.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×