Cool chain guide
Temperature controlled air freight
Pharmaceutical, perishable and clinical shipments fail on ground time rather than on flight time. This guide covers the ranges in use, the container options behind them and the operational controls that decide whether a consignment arrives inside its excursion limits.
Short answer
Temperature controlled air freight moves goods inside a defined range, typically 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, 15 to 25 degrees or frozen below minus 20. Protection comes from active or passive containers, cool storage at both stations and short tarmac exposure. Charter is used when a shipment cannot accept transfer points.
- Common ranges
- 2 to 8 C, 15 to 25 C, below minus 20 C
- Highest risk
- Ramp and transfer, not cruise
- Active container
- Powered, holds range, needs charging
- Evidence
- Continuous logging, excursion report
The ranges and what they carry
| Range | Typical goods | Usual protection |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 8 C | Vaccines, biologics, clinical samples | Active container or qualified passive box |
| 15 to 25 C | Tablets, medical devices, diagnostics | Passive box, cool storage, short ramp time |
| Below minus 20 C | Frozen pharma, food, plasma | Dry ice, frozen container, DGR handling |
| Below minus 60 C | Certain vaccines and research material | Dry ice or cryogenic shipper |
| Fresh chill | Flowers, fruit, fish, meat | Cool storage, ventilation, fast turnaround |
Active and passive containers
Active containers run a compressor or heater from a battery and hold a set point regardless of outside conditions. They need charging windows, they carry a heavier tare and their availability is planned against the lane in advance.
Passive boxes hold a range through insulation and phase change material for a qualified duration. They are lighter and cheaper but the clock is fixed at packing, which makes any delay a direct risk to the shipment.
- Active
- Set point control, battery managed, best for long or uncertain durations.
- Passive qualified
- Validated hold time, no power needed, unforgiving of schedule slip.
- Thermal blanket
- Reduces solar gain on the ramp. A supplement, not a substitute.
- Dry ice
- Sublimates over time. Replenishment planned into any tech stop or delay.
Where cool chains actually break
Cruise is the stable part of the journey. Excursions accumulate during acceptance, apron waiting, transfer between flights and customs holds, where the shipment sits outside a controlled environment in ambient conditions.
The operational answer is to remove waiting rather than to add insulation. Direct charter routings eliminate the transfer points, and a cool dolly, a shaded staging area and a booked cool room at both stations remove most of the remaining exposure.
Why charter is chosen for temperature critical loads
- No transfer
- One aircraft from origin to destination removes the highest risk step.
- Timed to the product
- Departure set around harvest, batch release or clinical timing.
- Whole aircraft control
- Loading sequence and ramp time planned around the consignment.
- Capacity certainty
- No offload risk on a peak lane, which passive boxes cannot absorb.
Documentation and evidence
Quality teams need proof, not assurances. Continuous data loggers travel with the shipment, and the record is read out on arrival and issued with the excursion assessment against the product stability profile.
Where a lane is repeated, the route is documented once and re-used: standard operating procedure, station capabilities, packaging qualification and deviation handling. Coordination is arranged so the shipper deals with one point of contact rather than with each ground party.
What temperature ranges are standard in air freight?+
2 to 8 degrees Celsius for cold chain pharma, 15 to 25 degrees for controlled ambient, and frozen ranges below minus 20 or minus 60 degrees. Fresh produce moves in chilled ranges specific to the commodity.
Active or passive container, which is better?+
Active suits long durations, uncertain schedules and tight set points. Passive suits shorter qualified windows and lower value density. Duration door to door, not flight time, decides.
Is dry ice restricted on aircraft?+
Yes. Dry ice is a dangerous good with declared quantities and per aircraft limits because it sublimates into carbon dioxide. It is accepted under the operator dangerous goods approval.
When is charter justified for pharmaceutical freight?+
When transfer points, offload risk or ramp exposure would put a batch outside its stability profile, or when the value of the consignment exceeds the cost difference to scheduled capacity.
What evidence is provided after the flight?+
Logger data covering the full door to door period, a temperature profile and an excursion assessment, alongside the handling and acceptance documents from both stations.
More answers in the FAQ hub with 50+ questions.
Plan a temperature controlled routing
Send the range, packaging type, weight and both stations. You receive a routing with cool storage, ramp exposure and logging arrangements named per leg.
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