Cathay Pacific delivers one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Hong Kong

Shipment of Sinovac vaccines is the first batch under the city’s vaccination programme.

Cathay Pacific has delivered one million doses of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines to Hong Kong, marking the first shipment of the city’s vaccination programme.

The vaccines, which arrived onboard Flight CX931 from Beijing, was shipped with the cooperation of Airport Authority of Hong Kong and other industry partners.

“This is an important milestone in Hong Kong’s fight against COVID-19 and we are immensely proud to be doing our part in this fight,” Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Officer Augustus Tang said. “We stand ready to undertake future shipments using our vaccine solution product and support the government in its community-wide roll out programme.”

The COVID-19 vaccines were loaded in six temperature-controlled Envirotainer e2 RAP containers to ensure the doses are kept within the required 2C-8C temperature range. The airline also placed the shipment closes to the aircraft doors to allow priority unloading upon arrival.

To reduce the towing time between the parking bay and the cargo terminal, Cathay parked the aircraft at the South Apron, which was the closest to its cargo terminal at the Hong Kong International Airport.

The “meticulous” plan developed by Cathay Pacific, shipper in Beijing, and the consignee in Hong Kong was critical in the shipment process of vaccines.

Cathay Pacific Cargo, Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal, and ground-handling subsidiary Hong Kong Airport Services have all been recertified by the International Air Transport Association on the CEIV Pharma accreditation. The accreditation is the internationally recognized quality assurance scheme for the shipment of pharmaceutical products.

“This offers a complete level of quality assurance at every stage of the import and transshipment journey,” the airline noted.