Worldwide Flight Services’ (WFS) stations in Madrid and Barcelona have obtained Good Distribution Practice (GDP) certifications, strengthening its leadership in pharmaceutical handling facilities at major airports around the world.

Among WFS’ 14 dedicated pharma facilities in Europe, USA, South Africa and Thailand, several have already been awarded GDP certification (Cape Town, Copenhagen, Cork, Dublin, Johannesburg, London and Paris CDG), or are in the process of obtaining this certification (Amsterdam, Bangkok, Brussels and Frankfurt). A number of these stations, including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Madrid and Paris CDG, also have IATA CEIV Pharma certifications.

GDP certification is awarded after a rigorous independent audit to confirm a pharma facility’s temperature management capabilities, as well as the suitability of its auditing processes, risk assessment and corrective/preventive measures. It provides WFS customers with a guarantee that temperature-controlled pharmaceutical products are consistently stored, transported and handled under the product-specific conditions required by the pharma industry.

Humberto Castro, WFS’ managing director – Cargo, Spain, said: “As the world’s leading air cargo handler, WFS is already at the forefront of best-practice for pharma shipments in terms of compliance and our ability to safeguard product integrity. Now that our Madrid and Barcelona stations have both GDP and IATA CEIV certifications, customers have the added assurance that we meet the highest global standards for handling air cargo shipments of pharmaceuticals.”