TAP Pharma transports Covid-19 vaccine to Portugal

At the moment, TAP Air Cargo is responsible for transporting the vaccines to Funchal, Ponta Delgada and Terceira. To date, thousands of vaccines have been transported to the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira.

The carrier's preparations to meet the transport needs for Covid-19 vaccines include: the design of the transport plan and dialogue with supply chain partners to ensure the procurement of temperature-controlled containers (pharma) and access to facilities meeting the necessary requirements. Anticipating the logistical operation of vaccine transport and storage is one of the main recommendations made to governments and the private sector by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which recently released the requirements for handling, transport and distribution of the vaccine by airlines. 

The IATA guidelines have been established in partnership with a number of international health organisations and highlight the complexity of the operation, which includes such challenges as ensuring sufficient storage space, regulatory approval for transport, border management, security against theft and the movement of deep-frozen material. Vaccines that have shown the best test results so far need to be kept at temperatures of -20ºC (Moderna vaccine) or -70ºC (Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines).

TAP Air Cargo regularly provides the transportation of medical and pharmaceutical products at stable, controlled temperatures in compliance with the strictest quality through TAP Pharma.