Edmonton International Airport is looking to establish itself as an international gateway for pharmaceutical traffic. The airport authority is targeting CEIV certification, the IATA-sanctioned badge of quality in handling this type of traffic.

The move will make Edmonton the first Canadian airport to obtain CEIV accreditation.

Alex Lowe, the airport’s manager of cargo business development, said that activities of the bio-pharma industry have been building up in the region, which has led to the emergence of clusters of such firms, notably near the airport.

Currently an 800,000-sq-ft bio-pharma facility is under construction at the airport, which is expected to be completed before the end of this year. For the most part, it will be used for pharmaceutical production and research & development, according to Lowe.

Up to 80% of the new facility’s output will be shipped by air, he added. He reckons that the lion’s share of the output from the new pharma production plant will be for the domestic market, but he also sees good potential outside Canada.

CEIV accreditation will signal to the pharma industry the level of quality that the airport has and is looking to raise further, he said.

“With the merging pharma and bio-pharma development and clustering we continue to see in our region, EIA and our key air cargo stakeholders are looking to continuously improve the quality of how pharma cargo is handled, while connecting our airport to the global pharmaceutical network,” said Tom Ruth, the airport’s president and CEO.

Several airlines are committed to the CEIV drive, while others are conducting due diligence at this point, according to Lowe. By extension, handling companies that work with participating airlines are on board, he said, adding that some forwarders and shippers are also involved.

He did not identify individual companies. Air Canada and Air France KLM are two carriers that have embraced CEIV accreditation in their organizations.

Since airports are not involved in the handling of cargo, some observers have questioned the need for them to become involved in CEIV, but Lowe sees benefits in a community approach, pointing to the successful development of CEIV communities at Brussels and Miami, which has helped their efforts to raise their profile as international gateways for pharma traffic.

“It’s all about the community. Our role is as a facilitator, as the entity that brings these interests together,” he said.

Edmonton is in the process of boosting its cold chain capabilities. A new cargo building with 5,000 sq ft of cooler space is nearing completion.

“We want to be ahead of the curve,” said Lowe. “We have some modern and adequate facilities in place, but those will reach capacity.”

He added that perishables have been a major driver for the need for more cold chain capabilities. “We’re seeing tremendous growth in our exports of perishables,” he said.

Lately the airport hosted some charters hauling cherries to China. Meat exports are also poised to rise, following an agreement between the Chinese and Canadian government to start trials for exports of chilled beef from Canada. So far only frozen meat has been allowed to be shipped to China.

Edmonton has freighter links to Asia courtesy of Nippon Cargo Airlines and Korean Air, which slot some of their flights from US points back to their home bases through the Canadian airport.

“We’re well positioned along routes to Asia,” said Lowe.

Perishables and pharmaceuticals mark a push by the airport as well as the government of the province of Alberta to diversify beyond the traditional focus on the oil and gas sector, which has been in the doldrums in recent years but is now showing signs of coming back to life.

Despite the slowdown in oil and gas-related cargo charters in recent years, Edmonton has kept expanding its cargo footprint. Between 2014 and this year five logistics facilities opened at the airport, most recently a 30,000-sq-ft warehouse and office building. According to Lowe, they have filled up fairly quickly and developers are looking to build more. Unlike many airports, Edmonton has ample land available for development, so it should not be a problem to find space for them.

By Ian Putzger

Air Freight Correspondent | Toronto