American Airlines Cargo has started the process to obtain International Air Transport Association (IATA) Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Pharma certification.

Initially its home base and key hub Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport, and Miami International Airport will be assessed followed by its 25,000 square foot pharmaceutical and healthcare facility at Philadelphia International Airport, which opened in 2015.

American Airlines Cargo manager of cold chain strategy, Tom Grubb says: “We’re extremely proud of our temperature-control network.”

“Our focus is on moving pharmaceuticals safely and efficiently across the globe, and being the first U.S. carrier to promote this certification will help show our partners and customers how confident we are in our abilities to offer the best cold-chain service possible.”

The IATA CEIV certification impartially validates capabilities of temperature controlled pharmaceutical shipments. CEIV facilities training for warehouse handling staff on regulations and best practices.

American developed its ExpediteTC product to develop handling and shipping of pharmaceutical and healthcare commodities. It says the certification will help promote the investments American made towards facility, technology and process enhancements to ensure high quality compliance, training and handling processes across its cold-chain network.