Alibaba logistics arm Cainiao to speed up Covid-19 vaccine shipments with China’s first cold chain air freight service

Cainiao Smart Logistics Network, the logistics arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, has announced that it is launching China’s first regular cross-border medical cold chain route, which will be able to transport Covid-19 vaccines.

The route was established in partnership with Ethiopian Airlines and is expected to soon help distribute Covid-19 vaccines to parts of Africa, the Middle East and Latin American, the companies said in a statement released on Wednesday. The route is certified to transport temperature-controlled medicines, which will get two shipments a week out of Shenzhen Airport to Africa. They will be forwarded to the rest of the world via Addis Ababa and Dubai.

“Cainiao’s global logistics network spans over 200 countries and regions, providing end-to-end integrated logistics services, including digital customs clearance capabilities,” James Zhao, Cainiao’s global supply chain general manager, said in the statement. “The launch of the cold chain air freight has further bolstered our global logistics capabilities and allows us to offer a one-stop solution for the global distribution of medical products such as the Covid-19 vaccines.”

The cold cabin where the medicine is stored, in addition to the Shenzhen Airport and the cargo terminal in Ethiopia, each have temperature control systems that monitor temperatures in real time, Cainiao said. The company added that they can handle temperatures as low as minus 23 degrees Celsius.

This makes the route cold enough for most temperature-controlled vaccines, and a Cainiao spokeswoman said it will be able to handle Covid-19 vaccines. However, this excludes vaccines that might require unusually cold temperatures, such as the recently announced Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine that must be stored at minus 70 degrees. More vaccine logistics solutions will be offered in the future, the spokeswoman said.