Singapore Airlines Cargo: An essential service for a global market

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), air cargo transports over US$6 trillion worth of goods, accounting for approximately 35% of world trade by value.

Apart from a dedicated cargo fleet of seven Boeing 747-400 freighters, Singapore Airlines Cargo also manages the cargo capacity on passenger flights operated by Singapore Airlines, Scoot and SilkAir. To maintain its role as a key player in the air freight sector, Singapore Airlines Cargo flies to more than 130 destinations and transports a wide variety of goods across many different industries.

But perhaps one of the most important types of cargo they handle, especially during challenging times, are essential food supplies. Temperature is the most important factor in preserving the quality of perishable food items such as eggs, meat and seafood, fruits and vegetables. They need to be kept away from the sun and placed in temperature-controlled and well-ventilated environments. Coolport, a dedicated on-airport facility in Singapore, has cold rooms which can be adjusted to various temperature settings to cater to this need.

Proper care is taken to ensure shipments are packaged, palletized and labelled correctly with “THIS WAY UP” stickers. Prior to departure, the staff also runs an additional check on board to ensure that these shipments are securely stowed.

Besides food supplies, Singapore Airlines Cargo also plays an important role in the biomedical sector supply chain, ensuring critical and temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical and healthcare products are transported with speed and reliability. The airline transports more than 20,000 tonnes of pharma shipments yearly.

Drugs such as insulin can easily lose their potency if a chilled environment is not maintained so THRUCOOL was launched in September 2018. Its purpose was to provide a dedicated cold chain service for transporting life-saving pharmaceuticals and healthcare products such as vaccines.

Via THRUCOOL, pharmaceutical cargo is also given a priority uplift, making it the first to be transferred to dedicated cold rooms. It also receives quick ramp transfers at airports and is transported utilising thermal blankets and temperature-controlled containers. Customers can also choose to place active tracking devices on the shipment to monitor every point of the journey. Singapore Airlines Cargo has also established quality corridors across key trade routes in the network to maintain consistency throughout the journey.

As a result of these efforts, in 2017 Singapore Airlines Cargo became the first airline in the Asia Pacific region to be awarded the IATA CEIV Pharma certification, a globally consistent and recognised pharmaceutical product handling certification. And after an audit in January 2020, a re-certification was awarded.

Singapore Airlines Cargo remains committed to provide transport service with a high level of efficiency and assurance at all times. An extensive network and proficient handling capabilities enable us to move the world.

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