Lufthansa Cargo Achieves Comprehensive IATA CEIV Pharma Certifications

Lufthansa Cargo has announced that IATA has comprehensively certified their operations according to the CEIV Pharma standard, confirming the highest quality standards for the tome and temperature sensitive healthcare products.

Lufthansa Cargo Receives Comprehensive IATA CEIV Pharma Certifications - Courtesy Lufthansa Cargo

On Friday (May 22, 2026), Lufthansa Cargo announced that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has comprehensively certified Lufthansa Cargo according to the CEIV Pharma standard.  CEIV stands for ‘Center of Excellence for Independent Validators’ and confirms the highest quality standards for the transportation of time and temperature sensitive healthcare products.  In addition to airline processes, the certification also includes IATA’s corporate approach, under which an airline’s quality management and processes are assessed holistically across a dedicated portion of the network.  The current CEIV Pharma certification is valid through April 2029.  The certificate was presented during the World Cargo Symposium in Lima, Peru by Brendan Sullivan, IATA’s Global Head of Cargo, to Oliver von Götz, Vice President Global Fulfillment Management at Lufthansa Cargo.

In Friday’s announcement, IATA’s Global Head of Cargo, Brendan Sullivan, said,

“Lufthansa Cargo’s renewed certification demonstrates in an impressive way how holistic quality assurance can be implemented in the global air cargo industry.  The company proves that standardized processes, centralized governance and local execution go hand in hand across the entire network, setting new benchmarks for the safe transportation of pharmaceutical products.”

Also commenting on the certification achievement, Lufthansa Cargo’s VP – Global Fulfillment management, Oliver von Götz, said,

“The certification highlights the pharmaceutical expertise we have continuously built up in one of our strategic focus industries.  Through close collaboration with our customers and the consistent further development of processes, training and infrastructure, we work every day to ensure a reliable and consistent level of quality throughout the entire transportation chain.”

IATA’s corporate approach was specifically developed for globally operating aviation stakeholders, and evaluates quality management centrally and across the network rather than limiting assessments to individual stations.  Quality requirements such as processes, training and infrastructure are centrally defined, monitored and implemented locally.

In addition to their central pharma hubs in Frankfurt, Munich and Chicago, the certification also includes selected stations such as Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Mexico City and New York. Numerous independently certified stations operated by ground handling agents (GHAs) complement the network, giving Lufthansa Cargo access to one of the world’s largest pharma networks.  The operations audits took place between November 2025 and March 2026.

Currently, Lufthansa Cargo operates a network of over 350 stations worldwide, including approximately 230 stations offering ‘Passive Temp Support’ and around 120 stations providing ‘Active Temp Control.’  Standardized processes, specially trained employees, and continuous quality monitoring along the transportation chain form the foundation for the safe transport of temperature-sensitive and time-critical pharmaceutical shipments.

Lufthansa Cargo is one of the world’s leading cargo airlines and part of the Lufthansa Group, Europe’s largest airline group.  In 2025, the company generated revenues of €3.4 billion and a transport performance of 9.1 billion freight tonne-kilometers, and currently employs approximately 4,300 team members worldwide.  Through five cargo hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Brussels, Vienna and Rome, the carrier transports an average of 2,500 tons of freight per day across an airport-to-airport network that covers 350 destinations in over 100 countries.  Lufthansa Cargo markets the belly-hold cargo capacities Lufthansa Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Discover Airlines, ITA Airways and SunExpress, as well as its own dedicated freighter fleet of 18 Boeing 777F and four Airbus A321F.  Additionally, around 300 trucks operate daily under a Lufthansa Cargo flight number. Together with its subsidiaries, Lufthansa Cargo offers customized, fast and efficient logistics solutions along the entire supply chain.

Source: Lufthansa Cargo / Mynewsdesk