WFS to Open Pharma Centre at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has invested €10 million in a new Pharma Centre to expand its range of services for airline and freight forwarder customers at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG).

The investment also includes equipment and supplies for the next 10 years.

The Pharma Centre offers both landside and airside acceptance capabilities and will be fully GDP compliant when it opens next month.

It will also become IATA CEIV Pharma certified, as part of an initiative launched by Group ADP within the cargo community at Paris-CDG Airport to fully support WFS’ dedicated temperature-controlled service to maintain strict control of the distribution chain, therefore protecting the quality and integrity of healthcare and life science products.

The 2,400 m² dedicated space, located in the heart of CDG airport’s cargo area, has its own docks and manoeuvring area for the loading and unloading of temperature-controlled pharmaceutical shipments. The facility provides:

- A dedicated room for loose cargo storage at +15-+25°C with a capacity for 108 euro-pallets on four levels of racking.

- A dedicated cold room for loose cargo storage at +2-+8°C with the capacity to store 47 euro-pallets on the ground, and with additional racking also available.

- A small freezing room for loose cargo storage at -20°C capable of handling 9 euro-pallets at a time.

- Two temperature-controlled areas for +2 to +25°C for cargo unit load devices with a combined capacity to store 53 P2P or 106 AKE pallets.

WFS is also investing in new digital technology systems to improve operational efficiency and shipment visibility. A new warehouse management system supports the use of barcode scanning for real-time storage capacity monitoring and management. This will ensure constant tracking of shipments from the Pharma Centre to and from aircraft with time and date statements available on demand. A temperature monitoring solution with a cloud platform will collect temperature and humidity data in real-time via sensors and enable this information to be accessed on mobile devices.

Designed with flexibility to adjust capacity on demand, the WFS Pharma Centre is served by exclusively-designed temperature-controlled three-pallet trailers and cool dollies as part of WFS’ end-to-end airport handling solution and works in accordance with the strict temperature requirements for specific pharmaceutical product groups.

The controlled-access Pharma Centre is also equipped with modern screening, CCTV control and alarm systems, and is monitored 24/7 by WFS’ Security Operational Centre.

The facility also reflects the company’s environmental commitment with its investment in an all-electric fleet of forklifts and pallet trucks as well as a robust plastic and wood waste recycling programme.

Hugo Rodrigues, Vice President Cargo France at WFS, said, “Pharmaceuticals continue to be one of the fastest-growing air cargo products and our airline customers have responded to this opportunity with dedicated products and services to meet this demand. WFS also has a vital role to play in helping our customers deliver the quality of service they have promised and in ensuring we consistently perform to the high standards required for sensitive, temperature-controlled cargoes to protect their integrity throughout the cool chain. At a major air cargo gateway like Paris CDG, we believe it is incumbent on ground handlers to invest in the right equipment to handle pharma products. Once again, this demonstrates WFS’ willingness to invest in new, state-of-the-art facilities when we see opportunities to benefit our customers and our own business.”

This latest investment follows the opening of WFS pharma facilities in Copenhagen, Johannesburg and Miami.

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