Air India successfully completed its inaugural “airport-to-door” cargo delivery on May 21, 2025, transporting life-saving pharmaceutical cargo from Delhi to Brussels.
This pioneering initiative, executed for SUN Pharma, marks a strategic expansion of Air India’s cargo capabilities, leveraging a sophisticated multimodal approach that combines air and road transport to reach destinations outside its direct flight network. The seamless 36-hour transit underscores a critical stride towards more integrated and resilient global supply chains, vital for ensuring the equitable distribution of essential medicines worldwide. The intricate operation commenced from Delhi, with the pharmaceutical consignment, packed into four lower-deck pallets, requiring a stringent and stable temperature environment between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius to maintain drug efficacy. Upon its arrival at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, the cargo was meticulously transferred to a temperature-controlled Road Feeder Service (RFS) truck. This ground segment ensured unwavering compliance with exacting pharma-grade transportation standards, safeguarding the integrity of the medicines until their precise delivery to the consignee’s warehouse in Brussels. This precision in cold chain management is paramount in the pharmaceutical sector, where product stability directly correlates with patient outcomes.
This innovative service represents a strategic pivot for Air India, moving beyond its traditional “airport-to-airport” model to offer a comprehensive, end-to-end logistics solution. As an airline operating more than 5,000 weekly flights to 45 cities in India and 43 international destinations across 31 countries, this expansion into multimodal logistics signifies a commitment to leveraging partners and infrastructure to extend its global footprint. Ramesh Mamidala, Head of Cargo at Air India, articulated this strategic vision, stating that these initial shipments of their new airport-to-door service are a significant step in progressively advancing their cargo offering to world-class standards. The successful execution of this delivery to Brussels not only demonstrates Air India’s enhanced operational dexterity but also carries profound implications for global public health and the equitable access to vital healthcare resources. The efficient and reliable transportation of pharmaceuticals is a cornerstone of sustainable societies, ensuring that life-saving drugs can reach patients in diverse geographic locations swiftly and without compromising quality. This capability is especially critical for nations reliant on imported medicines or for humanitarian aid in challenging environments, contributing directly to global health equity.
In the fiscal year 2024–25, Air India transported over 4,000 tonnes of pharmaceuticals, cementing its position as a key carrier in this specialized and high-value cargo segment. The airline’s strategic plan includes the expansion of these advanced airport-to-door cargo services, signalling a robust business strategy aimed at meeting the increasing demands for complex logistics solutions. This growth not only strengthens India’s role in the global pharmaceutical supply chain but also fosters economic opportunities within the logistics sector, promoting skilled employment and technological adoption. Ultimately, Air India’s foray into sophisticated multimodal pharmaceutical cargo logistics is more than a commercial expansion; it is an investment in the resilience of global supply chains and a testament to the imperative of ensuring critical goods, like medicines, traverse continents efficiently and reliably. This development positions India as a crucial hub for the movement of life-saving resources, contributing significantly to building more connected, sustainable, and equitable cities and societies worldwide.
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