COVID-19 Vaccine Transport Demand 'Stirs'... Korean Air's First Raw Material Shipment

Booming Air Cargo Market Expected to See Full-Scale COVID-19 Vaccine Transport Demand from Next Year
IATA "8,000 Large Aircraft Needed for One Dose per Person"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] Korean Air has become the first national airline to transport raw materials for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine. With the successive completion of COVID-19 vaccine development by global pharmaceutical companies and the recent start of vaccinations in some advanced countries, expectations for related transportation demand are also rising.

Korean Air announced on the 9th that on the 8th, it transported vaccine raw materials produced by a domestic company from Incheon International Airport to Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport in the Netherlands via passenger flight KE925 (A330). The quantity transported that day was about 800 kg, including containers and dry ice.

COVID-19 vaccines require maintaining a cold chain logistics system, which includes ultra-low temperatures below minus 60 degrees Celsius, freezing below minus 20 degrees Celsius, or refrigeration between 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, depending on the product characteristics. The COVID-19 vaccine raw materials transported by Korean Air the previous day were also transported at ultra-low temperatures below minus 60 degrees Celsius.

To this end, Korean Air loaded the vaccine raw materials into a special pharmaceutical transport container provided by the shipper. This special container uses about 208 kg of dry ice, which allows it to maintain ultra-low temperatures below minus 60 degrees Celsius for approximately 120 hours without a separate power supply, according to the company.

As transportation demand related to COVID-19 vaccines increases, expectations in the aviation industry are growing. Unlike the passenger market, the air cargo market is booming due to COVID-19, and with the full-scale transportation of COVID-19 vaccines, significant profitability improvements can be expected. Last week, United Airlines in the U.S. also transported Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine from Belgium to Chicago, marking the world's first such transport by a global pharmaceutical company.

According to the TAC Air Cargo Freight Index as of the 7th, cargo freight rates on the Hong Kong-North America route remain at about $6.77 per kg, approximately 85% higher than the same period last year. Additionally, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects that transporting COVID-19 vaccines next year will require the supply capacity of about 8,000 Boeing 747 aircraft. This is a significant boon for the aviation industry, which has suffered devastating damage from COVID-19. In particular, domestic contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) are scheduled to produce COVID-19 vaccines under contract.

Authorities and national airlines are also preparing. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has adjusted dry ice loading standards by aircraft type to expand the amount of vaccine that can be transported per flight, considering vaccine transportation demand. Dry ice emits carbon dioxide (CO2) during sublimation, so the amount allowed on board is strictly limited. In addition, authorities have simplified customs procedures and established a task force (TF) involving airport corporations and airlines.

Korean Air and Asiana Airlines have recently secured air containers for vaccine transportation and are reviewing their operations through internal task forces. Both airlines obtained the international standard certification (CEIV Pharma) from IATA last year, which certifies expertise and excellence in pharmaceutical air transport, giving them an advantageous position in COVID-19 vaccine transportation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.