Air Canada has started a new $16 million project to expand and enhance their cold chain handling capabilities at Toronto Pearson. The upgraded cargo facility will feature over 30,000 square feet of temperature-controlled areas and an expanded cooler.
On Friday (October 1st, 2021), Air Canada announced the launch of a $16 million project to enhance cold chain capabilities at their Toronto Pearson International Airport cargo facility. The upgraded facility will expand and enhance the airline’s cold chain handling capabilities for shipments such as pharmaceuticals, fresh food and other perishables. When completed, the facility will feature over 30,000 square feet of temperature-controlled areas and an expanded cooler, which will accommodate more Unit Load Devices (ULD). The project is just part of Air Canada’s latest strategy to develop their cargo division, which includes the acquisition of dedicated freighters, the launch of dedicated freighter routes and an expansion into e-commerce.
In Friday’s announcement, Air Canada’s Vice President – Cargo, Jason Berry, said,
“This is another important step for Air Canada Cargo as we continue to grow our business and invest in our facilities to better serve our customers. Our new temperature-controlled facility, which will be the only one of its kind for a Canadian airline, represents a significant addition to Air Canada's on-site capabilities at Toronto Pearson and to Canadian cold chain logistics. It will also give Air Canada Cargo a strategic advantage at our main hub, which handles more than 60 per cent of all our traffic, and will support the launch of routes to be served by our new freighter aircraft.”
Air Canada is CEIV Pharma certified by IATA, signifying that the carrier meets the highest standards of safety, security, compliance and efficiency in the transport of pharmaceuticals. Since March 2020, Air Canada has operated 11,000 cargo-only flights using widebody passenger aircraft, including some temporarily modified Boeing 777s and Airbus A330s with additional cargo space due to the removal of seats in the passenger cabin.
Air Canada is also converting eight Boeing 767-300ERs into dedicated freighters, the first of which will join Air Canada Cargo in the fourth quarter of this year. From early 2022, the first freighter will fly primarily out of Toronto with service to Miami, Quito, Lima, Mexico City and Guadalajara. Additional cities such as Madrid and Frankfurt will be added after delivery of the second dedicated freighter in 2022.
Air Canada is Canada’s largest domestic and international airline. The Canadian flag carrier is a founding member of the Star Alliance and the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking from Skytrax. For the last two years Air Canada was also named Global Traveler’s ‘Best Airline in North America.’ Additionally, Air Canada has committed to a net zero emissions goal from all global operations by 2050.
Source: Air Canada