Korean Air Transports South Korea's First Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Shipment

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] Korean Air transported the first Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Korea.

According to Korean Air on the 26th, flight KE9926, which departed Amsterdam, Netherlands, carrying the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on the 25th (local time), arrived at Incheon International Airport at 12:10 PM on the same day. The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine transported by Korean Air consisted of 117,000 doses, enough for 58,500 people.

This vaccine transportation was carried out through collaboration among Korean Air, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, customs, military and police forces, and logistics company UPS. Based on its expertise in special cargo transportation, Korean Air loaded the Pfizer vaccine, packaged in 21 dedicated vaccine transport boxes, into its special vaccine container for transport.

To facilitate this, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport carefully reviewed technical data from aircraft manufacturers and pre-adjusted dry ice loading standards by aircraft type used for frozen transport. Normally, the amount of dry ice allowed is strictly limited, but a large quantity was necessary for the ultra-low temperature transport of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

Global logistics company UPS was responsible for transporting the vaccine from the production plant in Belgium until it was loaded onto Korean Air. After the vaccine arrived in Korea, UPS promptly and safely delivered it to vaccination centers in five cities, including Seoul National University Hospital. The military transport support headquarters provided escort during this process.

Korean Air has operated a dedicated task force team since last year to prepare for vaccine transportation. In particular, considering that transport conditions differ by vaccine manufacturer?such as ultra-low temperature below minus 60 degrees Celsius, frozen below minus 20 degrees Celsius, and refrigerated between 2 to 8 degrees Celsius?Korean Air focused on strengthening the cold chain and enhancing facilities and equipment to provide various temperature-customized services.

Based on these efforts, Korean Air signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the 16th with UNICEF, a UN-affiliated international relief organization, and the COVAX Facility for global transportation of COVID-19 vaccines, recognizing its global supply chain, special cargo transport capabilities, and pharmaceutical transport expertise.

A Korean Air official stated, "As Korea’s representative national airline, we plan to deploy all company resources to ensure the safe transportation of COVID-19 vaccines."