GMR’s Hyderabad International Airport Limited and the Hyderabad Air Cargo have come together to join hands with Dubai Airport to build an exclusive vaccine air freight corridor called ‘HYDXB-VAXCOR’, Hyderabad to Dubai Global Vaccine Corridor. This is being touted as the first of its kind initiative to address the gigantic logistical challenge of transporting vaccines.

 

India is home to some of the largest vaccine manufacturers globally and is known for its pharma industry. Within the country, Hyderabad is one of the cities leading the fight in the preparation of a vaccine against COVID-19.

 

With Hyderabad home to one of the biggest concentrations of vaccine manufacturing capacities in the world, it is expected that the majority of the vaccines manufactured in India will be exported from the Hyderabad Airport to various destinations globally. In the case of import of vaccines as well, Hyderabad is expected to play a major role in the same thanks to its connectivity with several other domestic destinations.

 

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Pradeep Panicker, CEO-GMR Hyderabad International Airport, Saurabh Kumar, CEO-GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo and Eugene Barry, EVP-Commercial, Dubai Airports Corporation in a virtual ceremony organized last week.

 

What does the MoU say?

 

As per the MoU, both the Hyderabad and Dubai Airports will be according priority to the temperature sensitive vaccine shipments being moved between GMR Hyderabad and Dubai Airports for further connections to various continents. The partnership brings together Hyderabad- the global hub for pharmaceuticals and Dubai, the global air cargo hub.

 

This agreement will lead to the roll out of customised and simplified processes and infrastructural support to streamline the journey of Covid-19 Vaccine right from the manufacturing unit to the airport and hub logistics to delivery to end-customers.

 

Both the airports will be a key strategic Air Cargo Partners to help in the global distribution ecosystem. The partnership also entails technology collaboration. Both the companies will work together on an integrated IT Solution. This will help track the vaccines while in transit between Dubai and Hyderabad, this includes status and the temperature. 

 

Speaking about the MoU signed, Pradeep Panicker, CEO, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd., said, “GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo has always been the preferred gateway for India’s vaccine exports. In the current global context, there is a need for meticulous planning & collaborations to ensure safe and efficient air transportation of Covid-19 Vaccines. Accordingly, we have partnered with Dubai Airports to jointly offer ‘HYDXB-VAXCOR’ for global distribution of COVID-19 Vaccines.  We are also significantly upgrading our handling capacities for Covid-19 Vaccine shipments requiring Cold to Ultra-cold temperature ranges and becoming India’s largest Air Cargo centre both for Export/Imports and Domestic distribution of the Vaccine.”

 

According to Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, this partnership is a proactive strategy. He said, “A major surge in demand for the efficient, safe and reliable global distribution of high volumes of Covid-19 vaccines is expected in the coming months and as the world’s pre-eminent hub of choice, we wanted to be ready to respond to and accommodate that demand. Our partnership with GMR-Hyderabad is timed perfectly just as the global race to develop the vaccines enters the final stage. This corridor is the result of our proactive strategy to be ready with innovative, collaborative and agile shipping solutions for the industry.”

 

The target markets include Europe, Africa, USA and Asia.

 

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