Case Study – Air Charter for Healthcare

Air transportation to secure Covid-19 vaccination campaign

Medical devices and materials marketing company in Peru.

The challenge

The start of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign was imminent and our client needed regular shipments of syringes from China, where the factory was located, to Peru so they could ensure the vaccination campaign ran smoothly. The surge in demand for medical devices during the early months of the pandemic and the logistical congestion caused by transport restrictions posed a major challenge to achieving this goal.

The strategy

After analysing the situation, and given that the syringes had to be transported in the shortest possible time, the Noatum Logistics team in Peru searched for and found the only viable route to make this possible in just 48 hours from the manufacturing factory in Shanghai.

The solution

In order to meet the Peruvian government’s need for syringe deliveries for the vaccination campaign, monthly charter flights were contracted. The passenger area was set aside to accommodate some of the goods. In this way, the space available on the aircraft was optimised and as much cargo as possible was transported on a single flight. A total of 8 air charters and part charters were made from southern China, where the factory was located, to Peru via the Shanghai – Alaska – Los Angeles – Mexico – Lima route. Because of the restrictions on flight authorisations due to the pandemic, it was very difficult to find free slots. The Peruvian Foreign Ministry and the Peruvian Embassy in China worked together to find slots at Shanghai airport.

The result

After evaluating different options that allowed us to comply with the timing established by the client and maintain reasonable transport costs, the result was a success. The syringes arrived on time every month to complete the different phases of the vaccination campaign in Peru.