Pharma, healthcare and cold chain
Temperature windows do not tolerate compromise. We source aircraft and coordinate handling for GDP-aligned pharmaceutical and healthcare shipments, from active RKN/RAP containers to passive shippers and full plane-load transfers.
Submit a requirement any time — no account needed · first response usually within 60 minutes · 24/7 for AOG and time-critical. Optional: business account for status tracking
Cold chain, briefly
Pharmaceutical air charter keeps a defined temperature range from pickup to delivery using active or passive containers, controlled ramp exposure and documented handover points. The charter is planned around the container, its power or pre-conditioning needs and the airport cool chain.
Scope of service
Handling and dwell times planned around the product's stability window.
What protects a temperature profile
Handling and dwell times planned around the product's stability window.
Active and passive units matched to aircraft main-deck or lower-deck configuration.
GDP-aware handling agents selected at origin, transit and destination.
Direct to operator
In air cargo charter it is common for a requirement to travel through several intermediaries before it reaches the aircraft operator. Each layer adds its own commission to the same flight. We work directly with operators, so the quote you see carries one commercial layer.
Typical chain
With Cargo Charter Network
The requirement is not passed sideways to other brokers who each need to earn on the same lift.
We are remunerated by the operator. Our involvement does not add a separate fee to your charter price.
Payload, dimensions, ready date and airport constraints reach the operator unchanged, instead of being relayed through several desks.
Because we source across operators ourselves, you see the realistic market for that routing rather than whatever one intermediary could reach.
Availability, pricing and acceptance always remain with the operating carrier. Where a requirement can only be served through a partner, we say so before you decide.
How we work
Cargo Charter Network does not operate aircraft and employs no flight crew. Every flight is performed by a licensed operator we source, compare and coordinate.
Operators are checked for AOC validity, insurance, aircraft configuration and route authority for the specific mission before a price is put in front of you.
The same person handles sourcing, contract, permits, handling and flight watch, so there is no handover gap between quote and arrival.
We do not quote capacity that has not been checked with an operator, and we do not confirm acceptance of restricted commodities before the operator has accepted them in writing.
What we need to quote
Operational detail
The flight is the shortest part of the cool chain. Ramp exposure, cool dolly availability and station facilities decide whether the range holds.
Active containers need power, charging capability and handling clearance at every station. Passive systems need pre-conditioning windows. We size this before booking.
GDP-relevant records, temperature data and station handover evidence are agreed with the operator and handler up front.
GDP enquiry
Range, packaging and permitted excursions define the aircraft, the handler and the ground plan.
GDP-aligned handling, active or passive, with temperature records on arrival.
How to submit a requirement
You send the requirement straight to the desk — no account needed. We work it against operators immediately and come back with compared options.
Route, ready date, weight, dimensions, commodity and handling notes — no account, a few minutes.
Availability, payload and route permissions are checked directly with operators.
Compared operator options with payload, slots, handling and timeline — one accountable contact.
For status tracking and document exchange in the portal. Account verification is usually the same business day.
No supplier identities, margins or internal sourcing data are shared. Requirement data is treated confidentially.
Aircraft
Availability is subject to route, payload, permits and operator acceptance.
Capacity structures
The same requirement can be bought as a whole aircraft, as a share of one, as reserved space on a running rotation or as leased capacity with crew. The structure decides the price far more than the aircraft type does.
01
One shipment fills a deck, or timing and commodity rule out sharing
You control the schedule, the loading plan and the routing.
02
Volume fills part of a deck and the ready date tolerates consolidation
Cost is shared across shippers inside one build-up window.
03
Recurring volume on a lane that already has a rotation
A fixed allocation per flight, committed for a defined period.
04
Capacity is needed for weeks or months, not for one flight
Aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance leased against guaranteed block hours.
Fuel, ATC, airport charges, handling and de-icing sit outside an ACMI rate. On charter they are inside the quoted price unless stated otherwise.
Around the flight
A charter is only as good as the ground scope attached to it. These items are quoted and coordinated as part of the mission, not left to the shipper.
Export and import entries, transit procedures, temporary export for repair, preferential origin papers and the broker interface at both ends.
Pallet and container build-up, load spreading, lashing plans and guidance where packaging would fail an operator acceptance check.
Pre-carriage, on-carriage, air-ride equipment where needed, low-loaders and permitted road routes for outsize crates.
Overflight, landing and cabotage permits, airport slots, night curfew handling and diplomatic clearances where they apply.
Cool storage, active or passive units, cool dollies, data loggers and shock or tilt indicators read at each handover.
Loading supervision, attendants for live cargo, security escorts and sealed handovers for high-value consignments.
Cold-chain lanes
On GDP work the flight is the easy part. Ramp exposure, tarmac dwell and active container power define whether the shipment stays in spec.
Regions handled most often
We ask for the excursion tolerance and the data-logger plan before quoting — an in-spec record is the deliverable, not just the arrival time.
Cold chain in practice
Pharmaceutical air charter is judged on the unbroken chain, not the flight. That means active or passive containers matched to the lane and season, pre-conditioning, cool dolly and cold room availability at both airports, limited tarmac exposure and a documented temperature record.
The charter itself removes the biggest risk in scheduled shipping: unplanned transfer, offload and re-handling at a hub.
Shippers usually require GDP-aware handling, data logger placement, deviation reporting and a defined escalation path. We confirm the operator and handling agent capabilities against those requirements before the mission is booked.
Where the product is also classed as dangerous goods, the classification and segregation rules are cleared in the same step.
Questions
Answers from daily desk work: payload, ready date, permits and cost drivers.
See all questionsActive and passive units up to full pallet size, subject to aircraft compatibility, power provision where required and handling capability at both stations.
We source the equipment and handling that hold the specified range and provide the data record. The commitment is documented per mission with the operator and handling agent.
Yes. Operator and handler capabilities are checked against your GDP and quality requirements before booking.
Through the packaging solution and the ground process, not just the aircraft. Active containers hold a defined temperature range under their own power, passive solutions rely on validated insulation and phase-change material for a stated duration, and the aircraft hold provides a controlled but not precision environment. The risk sits on the ramp and in transit, so cool dolly, limited tarmac exposure and a short handover chain matter more than the flight itself.
Standard pharmaceutical ranges of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, 15 to 25 degrees Celsius controlled ambient, frozen at minus 20 degrees Celsius and deep frozen with dry ice are all routinely moved. The constraint is usually the dry ice quantity permitted on the specific aircraft and the availability of temperature-controlled storage at the transit or destination station. Both are checked before the aircraft is confirmed.
We source operators and handling agents with the relevant good distribution practice capability and pharma-certified facilities where the lane offers them, and we specify the required handling in writing to every party in the chain. Certification varies by station, so on lanes where a certified facility does not exist we design the process around minimal exposure and continuous monitoring instead. The gaps are named in the offer rather than glossed over.
Yes, with data loggers or real-time telemetry, depending on the container solution and the airline's policy on transmitting devices. Real-time monitoring is standard on high-value clinical and biologic shipments and allows intervention while the shipment is still recoverable. Logger data should be part of the release documentation, not an afterthought.
Talk to the desk
AOG and time-critical requirements can be raised by phone or email at any time — no account required.
Keep reading
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Knowledge
Send the requirement and the desk will come back with sourced options, or call now if it is time-critical.
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