The International Air Transport Association has named Miami International (MIA) the first pharmaceuticals freight hub in the U.S. and the second in the world.
“This prestigious designation will go a long way toward establishing MIA and Miami-Dade County as one of the world’s leading pharma trade markets,” says Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “Congratulations to Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. Gonzalez and his team for taking our community’s top economic engine to even greater heights.”
The airport had its pharma logistics providers go through IATA’s Pharma Certification Program, which certifies that products are transported using global best practices. MIA is the busiest U.S. airport for international freight and perishable imports and is already a pharma hub, with a total value of pharma products transported through the airport of $3.283 billion in 2014 – a 79 percent increase since 2010, according to trade data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
“As the first IATA-designated pharma freight hub in the U.S., we have the goal and expectation of increasing as well as attracting new pharma business from untapped markets across the globe,” says Emilio T. Gonzalez, aviation director at MIA. “We deeply appreciate our cargo partners for collaborating with us in this exciting new chapter of MIA’s growth.”
The Miami-Dade Aviation Department partnered up with Miami’s Health Technologies Distribution Alliance to organize MIA cargo airlines, ground-handling companies and freight forwarders who will go through specialized training through IATA’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators Pharma Certification Program.
“The CEIV Pharma certification program ensures the participants in the air cargo value chain have the tools to operate at the highest standards for the transport of what, in many cases, are life-saving drugs and medicines,” says Peter Cerda, regional vice president for the Americas for IATA. “And it gives pharmaceutical companies the assurance that their cold-chain logistics requirements are met through an independent certification process. We deeply appreciate the work of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department to bring together its community of pharmaceutical logistics stakeholders to partake in this program.”
