• Brussels Airport is emerging as a global hub for advanced pharmaceutical logistics, aligning infrastructure and expertise with the rise of precision medicines that demand ultra-cold storage, real-time control, and collaboration between manufacturers and logistics providers.
• Efficiency and reliability drive innovation, from digital control towers and real-time tracking to specialised handling facilities tailored for patient-specific therapies, ensuring speed and safety for temperature-sensitive shipments.
• Air Cargo Belgium fosters cross-border collaboration and knowledge exchange among stakeholders and European cargo hubs, uniting the community around patient-centric logistics, regulatory alignment, and the seamless movement of next-generation therapies.

Brussels Airport is rapidly establishing itself as a critical gateway for the transportation of advanced pharmaceutical therapies. The city’s strategic location, combined with a dense network of pharmaceutical manufacturers, has positioned it at the forefront of precision medicine logistics. With therapies becoming increasingly patient-specific and technologically sophisticated, the region’s airfreight capabilities are evolving to meet the demands of this specialised market.

From vaccines requiring controlled temperatures to experimental therapies needing ultra-cold storage, the rise of advanced medicines has created a new challenge: how to move these products efficiently, safely, and reliably. For the community of airfreight operators and stakeholders in Belgium, this rapid evolution in pharmaceuticals presents both an opportunity and a responsibility. “We see that there’s a bit of a gap between the pharma industry and the knowledge of what is really happening in the sector, and that’s actually the gap we aim to bridge,” Freek De Witte, Director of Air Cargo Belgium, explained. “We make sure that some of that knowledge is being transferred forward to others, so that they invest at the right time.”

Investment in facilities and processes must match the arrival of new therapies to avoid wasted resources and maintain quality.. “Some people were asking me earlier, okay, why is the infrastructure not ready yet? I said, because the product isn’t ready yet. These therapies are coming in two, three years’ time. It doesn’t make sense to already build infrastructure and processes which would be ready now.”

Cold chain logistics, a critical component of pharmaceutical airfreight, is becoming increasingly complex. The Belgian community is therefore actively working with manufacturers to develop packaging and procedures that reduce risk and maintain efficacy. “Precision therapies are a broad concept,” De Witte said. “Some of them will require extreme negative temperatures, but some may not be temperature sensitive at all. What we also see currently is that for those products needing, let’s say, extreme negative temperatures, manufacturers are they’re looking for alternatives to make them in such a way or regenerate in such a way that they have fewer temperature requirements.”

Speed and efficiency

Rapid turnaround is crucial for therapies with short shelf lives, particularly those that are patient-specific. De Witte explains that efficiency improvements are happening both in software and hardware. “When it comes to software, we’re looking at control tower concepts…tailor-made for precision therapies. And then the other aspect is, of course, the hardware: handling facilities. Should we have a dedicated handling facility? Should there be dedicated spaces within the current handling facilities at Brussels? These are the things we’re investigating to make sure we have tailor-made solutions.”

Digitalisation is another key enabler. Real-time tracking and integrated platforms can dramatically improve visibility, security, and efficiency. By embracing new systems, the Belgian airfreight community aims to reduce delays and increase the reliability of transporting sensitive therapies. “In general, if you look at technological evolution from the past years, when it comes to slot booking and tracking land side, this is more or less well maintained, but the handling facilities are a bit of a black box,” De Witte said.

Patient-centricity also informs operational decisions. Collaborating with universities and hospitals, the community is exploring models where patients receive therapies efficiently, bypassing complex logistical chains entirely. “One of the concepts we’re thinking about is to, let’s say, eliminate the last mile by bringing the patient to the airport and making sure there’s a medical facility, maybe not a full medical facility, but where the therapy can be administered to the patient,” De Witte explained.

Sharing knowledge across borders

By creating a unified forum, Air Cargo Belgium ensures that all stakeholders understand the unique requirements of advanced therapies, from regulatory compliance to handling protocols procedures. “Normally, a forwarder talks to its airline and then to the forwarder on the other side. But these are, most of the time, separate discussions. We try to bring everybody together at the same big table,” De Witte said.

Belgium is also looking beyond its borders. De Witte emphasises the importance of learning from other European cargo hubs. “We actively seek cooperation with other cargo communities at other airports because we see that they learn faster, more quickly, on certain aspects. That’s why we want to exchange—because bringing all those together will help us grow as European airports.”