The safe, reliable and efficient transportation of pharmaceutical products is a key focus for Delta Cargo. To support that goal, the airline has approved the DoKaSch Opticooler RAP container for use on Delta aircraft as part of its cold chain pharma program for the safe transportation of vaccines.

This high-end, state-of-the-art climate-control solution offers pharmaceutical and life science companies a controlled and reliable 2-8°C and 15-25°C options, enabling it to be used for Pharma 1 transportation including vaccines, without the need for dry ice. The Opticooler has a large control panel plus quadruple redundancy for all critical parts, meaning there are backups for each feature in case of failure. The large loading compartment easily accommodates five standard Euro pallets or four CP-1 pallets, plus the container has a large battery operating independently up to 120 hours and requires merely 2 to 4 hours battery-charging time.

“The introduction of the Opticooler provides our customers with more choice when looking for reliable container options to support the growing global demand for pharma and vaccine shipments,” said Shawn Cole, Delta’s vice president — Cargo. “Alongside our joint venture partners, Air France-KLM Cargo, we can now offer our customers a seamless experience across the trans-Atlantic, helping to keep supply chains moving and ensuring the safe delivery of temperature sensitive shipments during the current pandemic.”

Andreas Seitz, managing director of DoKaSch Temperature Solutions, said,  “This agreement with Delta provides more transport options for shippers of sensitive pharmaceutical goods, which is especially important for the upcoming transport of vaccines against COVID-19. Many of these will require a temperature range between 2°C and 8°C during transport, which is exactly what our Opticooler is made for. Delta further expands our extensive global network which allows us to offer our temperature-controlled packaging solutions at even more locations.”

Delta Cargo was the first US passenger carrier to receive IATA’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Pharma Logistics Certification.