United Cargo had been working with freight forwarder DSV to transport delicate blood plasma.
The airline said that plasma is a fragile product that requires very careful handling.
“Frozen blood plasma must be kept at a very low, stable temperature of negative 20 degrees Celsius or less – no easy task considering it must be transported between trucks, warehouses and airplanes, all while moving through the climates of different countries,” the airline explained.
In order to maintain the temperature of the plasma, DSV and United have been using Va-Q-tec’s TWINx shipping containers, which can carry 1,750 pounds of cargo.
United said: “Every week, DSV delivers 20 TWINx containers, each one filled to capacity with human blood plasma, for loading onto a Boeing 787-9 for transport.
“The joint effort to move thousands of pounds of blood plasma demonstrates that despite the distance, challenges in moving temperature-sensitive cargo and Covid-19 obstacles, we continue to find creative solutions with the help of our strong partnerships.”
Since March 19, the airline has operated more than 3,200 cargo-only flights between six US hubs and over 20 cities in Asia, Australia, Europe, South America, India, the Caribbean and the Middle East.
