Singapore can be air cargo hub for COVID-19 vaccines: Changi Airport, CAAS

Singapore can play a critical role in distributing vaccines to the region as an air cargo hub, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) on Tuesday. “Over the years, Changi Airport has built a strong track record in pharmaceutical handling by air, from serving Singapore’s pharmaceutical manufacturing sector. We have good cold chain handling infrastructure and capabilities,” said Ho Yuen Sang, CAAS director of aviation industry. “We are able to handle not only vaccine shipments to Singapore for our own needs, but also transshipments to Singapore for distribution to the rest of the region.” Ho said that SIA has more than 200 passenger aircraft to deploy and can deliver vaccines to “multiple destinations according to demand”. Singapore can distribute vaccines to areas where the infrastructure to handle large volumes of vaccines is limited, which would require more frequent deliveries in smaller volumes, he added at a press briefing at Changi Airport on Tuesday. On Saturday, Singapore Airlines (SIA) said that it would prioritise cargo capacity to transport COVID-19 vaccines when they become available. The airline added that it would prepare seven Boeing 747-400 freighters and deploy passenger planes where needed. As of Dec 1, the number of weekly cargo flights at Changi Airport has tripled to more than 950 compared to end-2019, and the airport is connected to about 80 cities by weekly cargo flights, said CAAS and CAG. SIA now operates multiple weekly flights to key European pharmaceutical export hubs, such as Amsterdam, Brussels and Frankfurt.<br/>