This confirms the airline’s compliance with Good Distribution Practice (GDP), verifying its ability to maintain the quality and integrity of pharmaceuticals products.
WDA was established by the UK Government’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, which is recognised as a trusted source of expertise throughout Europe.
Virgin Atlantic Cargo’s attainment of the WDA follows its handling partner dnata also gaining WDA for its Cargo Point operation at Heathrow, which incorporates the Pharma Zone, shared by Virgin Atlantic and its joint venture partner, Delta Cargo.
This latest enhancement of Virgin Atlantic’s products and services for pharmaceuticals is expected to lead to further growth in volumes, which rose by over 20% in 2017.
Dominic Kennedy, Managing Director of Virgin Atlantic Cargo, said: “We have been listening to our customers and responding to what they want. Wholesale Distribution Authorisation was the regulatory compliance they asked us to achieve and now we meet their requirements at both our global headquarters and Pharma Zone. We can measure our customers’ approval by the increasing pharma bookings they are giving us.
“We are confident 2018 will be a record year for our pharma and life science business as customers commit to airlines like Virgin which are delivering tangible benefits,” he concluded.
