Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has opened a state-of-the-art pharma facility at Copenhagen Airport, further expanding the airport’s pharmaceutical handling capabilities. The new 1,600 m² building provides end-to-end handling in a temperature-controlled environment for 2-8°C pharma products incorporating acceptance, offload, pre-storage, build-up and storage. Accessible through four dedicated cargo doors, the facility will accept loose shipments and pre-built units, with the capacity to handle up to 300 euro-pallets. WFS has also upgraded the existing temperature control areas in its largest facility to handle growing volumes of pharma products requiring a 15-25°C temperature range.

Meeting the fast-growing demand

Since opening the first stage of its pharma infrastructure in Copenhagen at the end of 2017 – a temperature-controlled ULD storage area with the capacity to handle 16 units – WFS has seen its volume of pharma shipments grow by 90%.

“There is already a fast-growing demand for high-quality handling of pharma shipments at Copenhagen Airport,” said Jimi Daniel Hansen, WFS Global Project Director – Process Improvement. “Our commitment to significantly increase our facilities will provide the capacity for future growth and establish Copenhagen as a world-class airport for pharma cargoes."

Growing the airport for the future

“With this significant expansion, WFS is playing an important role in one of Copenhagen Airport’s priorities in the Cargo strategy ‘Grow Pharma’, ” says Morten Mortensen, Director of Airline Sales & Route Development at Copenhagen Airport.

“WFS has set a new standard for the handling of pharmaceutical products in Copenhagen Airport and has ensured the capability to handle Pharmaceutical and Biomedical shipments for many years to come,” he told guests attending the ‘ribbon-cutting’ ceremony in the facility.

The gateway to Northern Europe

Pharmaceutical products are among the highest valued commodities to be carried by air freight, representing an important commodity for the region. Greater Copenhagen is home to one of the largest life science clusters in the EU, Medicon Valley, bringing together companies such as Novo Nordisk, LeoPharma and Lundbeck.

“We see significant potential in Copenhagen by investing in the facilities and solutions our customers need to grow their businesses,” said Dan Parker, SVP Commercial Cargo – EMEAA at WFS. “Pharma is a big focus because both Denmark and Sweden have important pharmaceutical production sites located in or around the Oresund region and Copenhagen is a natural international gateway for these products.”

FlyPharma lands in Copenhagen

Copenhagen Airport is proud to be co-sponsoring this year’s FlyPharma conference in Copenhagen, 22-23 October 2019 to support our airlines in pharma. Our Cargo team will be there to share more information about our pharma capabilities, the new facilities, and more industry news.

To find out more about the new facilities, contact Air Cargo Manager, Lars Gotfredsen.