• Air Canada Cargo is upgrading its Toronto facility with expanded temperature-controlled zones and integrated workflows to support pharmaceutical and healthcare shipments, aiming to reduce thermal risk and improve compliance.

• The carrier maintains IATA CEIV and GDP certifications and has embedded controlled-environment handling from acceptance through release, supported by internal engineering oversight.

• Modernisation efforts include AI-driven shipment acceptance, warehouse automation, and digital workflow tools to replace legacy systems, cut paper-based delays, and boost real-time visibility across cargo operations.

Air Canada Cargo is expanding its temperature-controlled handling capabilities and innovating warehouse operations as part of a multi-year infrastructure and process transformation. The programme centres on the carrier’s Toronto hub, which has been equipped with a larger cold chain facility and new temperature-controlled zones designed to support pharmaceutical, biologics, and healthcare supply chains. The development reflects a broader shift in the airfreight sector, in which airlines are investing in in-house facilities to standardise handling conditions, reduce the risk of temperature deviation events, and meet compliance expectations from pharmaceutical manufacturers and regulators.

The Toronto facility incorporates dedicated storage zones across controlled temperature ranges, enabling staff to move shipments through acceptance, handling, and release without returning cargo to ambient conditions. The company has also embedded workstations within the controlled zones to consolidate workflows. This reflects a trend towards integrated handling environments designed to reduce dwell time and improve thermal protection during operational transfer.

Air Canada Cargo maintains certification from the Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) for pharmaceutical handling and is also compliant with GDP standards across the cold chain. Staff involved in pharmaceutical handling are trained in the required procedural controls, documentation standards, and temperature monitoring protocols. Wallace said the layout was built to allow handling tasks to occur directly inside the controlled space.

“Our employees are able to accept and handle all the freight within that facility, drive forklifts in, also do acceptance and pickup,” Janet Wallace, Managing Director Cargo Operations and Transformation at Air Canada, said.

The company has maintained IATA CEIV certifications for its pharmaceutical and animal handling operations. “We maintain IATA CEIV certification for pharmaceutical handling,” she said.

The operational framework is supported by internal engineering oversight to track and maintain process integrity. “We brought in industrial engineers into the workplace to map out the handling of each of the commodities,” Wallace added.

Automation and workflow development

The modernisation strategy also includes replacement of ageing mechanical systems and the introduction of digital workflow tools to reduce manual documentation. The Toronto terminal is more than 25 years old and has been supported by equipment and software of similar age. The carrier is now replacing systems at end of life, updating cargo handling machinery, and planning a warehouse management system intended to support visibility, task allocation, and real-time status updates.

While digitalisation initiatives have progressed across booking and customs messaging in recent years, documentation carried on arrival at cargo terminals remains heavily paper-based across the airfreight industry. Operators have reported workflow delays caused by multiple document checks at acceptance, re-entry of routing data, and reliance on manual milestone confirmation. Air Canada Cargo is developing a digital ecosystem that links acceptance handling, internal processing, and downstream release, alongside connectivity to customer portals.

The carrier has integrated artificial intelligence support at the shipment acceptance stage to identify special handling requirements and customs conditions.

“The data scientists work with us, and we’ve looked at from an acceptance perspective how to introduce artificial intelligence at that point,” Wallace said.

The strategy includes broadening API access so customers can transact through multiple booking channels. “We are a fully flexible airline that is focused really on accessing all the different portals of where our customers are at,” she said.

Asset visibility and network standardisation

Air Canada Cargo is deploying smart tracking for unit load devices to improve asset visibility across its network. Airlines have historically faced challenges determining ULD location and availability, with seasonal schedules and shipper-loaded returns complicating inventory balancing. The programme uses tracking devices integrated with readers in aircraft, warehouses, and trucks to provide real-time visibility. The data is intended to improve network planning, repositioning decisions, and handling efficiency.

The carrier is also reviewing the movement of pharmaceutical shipments between aircraft stands and cold chain areas, where exposure and dwell time can influence product integrity. Tracking tools under consideration would support continuous monitoring during transitions between handling environments. The review aligns with a wider focus on improving milestone speed for time-sensitive cargo. The company aims to increase transfer velocity into temperature-controlled conditions to reduce risk at peak periods.

Network standardisation is a core component of the transformation programme. The warehouse management model being developed in Toronto is intended to be scaled to other locations where the carrier self-handles cargo. This is expected to support uniform service levels across the network and streamline digital workflow adoption.

The call to action for Air Canada Cargo focuses on reducing inbound dwell times. “We are tracking very closely with our engineering team, as well as following all the Cargo iQ milestones to ensure that the shipments are passing each of the milestones as quickly as possible,” Wallace said. She outlined that the digital transition is being planned as a connected architecture. “We are definitely building a digital ecosystem,” she said. “The starting point is, I’m going to know where everything is.”