Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has become the first air cargo handling company in South Africa to be awarded Good Distribution Practice (GDP) certifications for its temperature-controlled pharma facilities, aligned to ISO9001:2015, in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
This latest WFS investment to upgrade and certify its pharma handling operations at both airports follows a 15% increase in these product volumes into South Africa over the past two years. It also supports the company’s continued commitment to supporting the growth of its airline customers’ pharma products.
In 2019, WFS has also completed multi-million-euro investments in new pharma facilities in Copenhagen, Miami, New York JFK and Paris CDG airports. The awarding of GDP certifications in Johannesburg and Cape Town followed an audit of WFS’ cargo operations by DQS, one of the world’s leading certification bodies for management systems worldwide.
Malcolm Tonkin, General Manager-Cargo for WFS in South Africa, commented: “Our new pharma facilities and GDP compliance positions WFS to meet the expectations of our customer airlines and will help them and us grow this important segment of our business into and out of Johannesburg and Cape Town. Earning GDP certification recognises the professionalism of our team in South Africa and was also achieved with online training support from specialists in the WFS Academy. With the South African pharma market projecting continued high-level growth, we also hope our investment will encourage more airlines to choose WFS as their handling partner, based on the enhanced quality of service we now offer.”
WFS currently handles more than 65,000 tonnes of air cargo a year, including pharmaceuticals, for airline customers in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
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