Swiss WorldCargo, the airfreight division of Swiss International Air Lines, has recently received IATA’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV Pharma) re-certification, which applies again to the entire airline and organization. The re-certification was awarded following a thorough audit operated by IATA’s recognized independent auditors.

As the temperature-controlled handling of pharmaceutical products continues to be increasingly challenging due to global regulatory conditions, IATA created CEIV Pharma alongside aviation’s stakeholders and regulators to address the industry’s need for safer, more secure, compliant and efficient pharmaceutical product handling across the entire air cargo supply chain.

In 2018, the IATA authorities awarded Swiss WorldCargo a full CEIV Pharma certification, recognizing the airfreight division’s globally consistent and high-quality pharmaceutical handling processes to safeguard product integrity. In 2021, Swiss WorldCargo was successfully re-certified, becoming part of a small, select group of airlines who has earned this recognition and holds a full CEIV Pharma certification.

Swiss WorldCargo’s expertise in transporting pharmaceuticals has been recognized in the air cargo industry since many years. Achieving an IATA CEIV Pharma re-certification for the second time provides evidence of the division’s commitment to quality and safety, and its ability to adhere to the highest compliance and regulatory requirements.

“I am very proud of Swiss WorldCargo being awarded a full CEIV Pharma re-certification again, which speaks for our continuous efforts to maintain the highest standards of quality, reliability, and safety, which ultimately result in the peace of mind of our customers around the world. We are happy to cover an important role in the air cargo industry, by transporting pharmaceuticals globally every day through a solid commitment to the critical safeguarding of the products’ integrity”, says Lorenzo Stoll, Head of Cargo at Swiss International Air Lines.

With the pharmaceutical sector being one of the key driving forces of the Swiss economy, the air cargo industry identifies the need to establish a solid network of certified pharmaceutical trade lanes that meets consistent high-quality standards and ensures the products’ integrity. In addition to Swiss WorldCargo becoming fully CEIV Pharma re-certified for the second time in 2024, Swiss WorldCargo’s Zurich hub is double certified: GDP compliant by Swissmedic and CEIV Pharma certified.

About Swiss WorldCargo

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is Switzerland’s largest air carrier. With one of Europe’s most advanced and carbon-efficient aircraft fleets, SWISS is a premium airline that provides direct flights from Zurich and Geneva to keep Switzerland connected with Europe and the world. Its Swiss WorldCargo division offers an extensive range of airport-to-airport airfreight services for high-value, time-critical and care-intensive consignments. As The Airline of Switzerland, SWISS embodies its home country’s traditional values and is dedicated to delivering the highest product and service quality. The company has also committed to the ambitious climate goals of halving its 2019 net carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and making its operations entirely carbon-neutral by 2050, particularly by promoting the use of sustainable aviation fuels. SWISS is part of the Lufthansa Group and is also a member of Star Alliance, the world’s biggest airline network.

Swiss WorldCargo serves the Italian city with 28 weekly flights using narrowbody Airbus A320/321 and Embraer aircraft. WFS, a member of the SATS Group, expects to handle annually 2,000 tonnes of cargo in Milan Malpensa for the airfreight division of SWISS. Additionally, Swiss WorldCargo’s customers will continue to benefit from road feeder services connecting Milan and Zurich 6 days a week.

Swiss WorldCargo has been a longstanding customer of WFS across its global network. At present, WFS provides cargo handling services for SWISS’ airfreight division at key airport stations in North & South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. Its decision to appoint WFS as its air cargo ground handling partner in Milan Malpensa was based on WFS’ modern cargo handling facilities, the size of its operation, and its ability to provide dedicated solutions for Swiss WorldCargo’s specialised high-value, care-intensive and temperature-sensitive shipments.

“We’re glad to extend our already solid collaboration with WFS to another key station of our cargo operations, Milan Malpensa. With a significant number of weekly flights and tonnes of cargo transported between Milan and Zurich, we need an air cargo ground handling partner that knows our business well and can operate to the high-quality standards that we provide our customers globally. WFS can do that,” says Christian Wyss, Head of Cargo Offering Development & Steering at Swiss International Air Lines.

“We are proud that Swiss WorldCargo has extended its air cargo ground handling partnership with WFS to Milan Malpensa. The quality of Swiss WorldCargo’s products and services is highly respected across the industry, and we value the airfreight division’s confidence in our ability to meet these high standards,” said Massimiliano Introini, WFS’ Managing Director Italy. “In support of our service offering, as well as investing in our warehouse terminal, we have implemented digitalised processes in our warehouse and will be adding extra equipment to enhance our ULD and Pharma Handling capabilities.”

About Swiss WorldCargo

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is Switzerland’s largest air carrier. With one of Europe’s most advanced and carbon-efficient aircraft fleets, SWISS is a premium airline that provides direct flights from Zurich and Geneva to keep Switzerland connected with Europe and the world. Its Swiss WorldCargo division offers an extensive range of airport-to-airport airfreight services for high-value, time-critical and care-intensive consignments. As The Airline of Switzerland, SWISS embodies its home country’s traditional values and is dedicated to delivering the highest product and service quality. The company has also committed to the ambitious climate goals of halving its 2019 net carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and making its operations entirely carbon-neutral by 2050, particularly by promoting the use of sustainable aviation fuels. SWISS is part of the Lufthansa Group and is also a member of Star Alliance, the world’s biggest airline network.

About WFS

Founded in 1984, WFS – a member of the SATS Group – is the world’s largest air cargo logistics provider and one of the leading providers of ground handling services with annual revenues of €2 billion. As a combined company, SATS and WFS create an Americas-Europe-APAC network with a global footprint of more than 215 cargo and ground handling stations in 27 countries, covering trade routes responsible for more than 50% of global air cargo volume. For more information, please visit www.wfs.aero

About SATS Group

SATS Ltd. (SATS) is a global leader in gateway services and Asia’s pre-eminent provider of food solutions. With heartfelt service and advanced technology, we connect people, businesses, and communities seamlessly through our comprehensive gateway services for customers such as airlines, cruise lines, freight forwarders, postal services and eCommerce companies. Using innovative food technologies and resilient supply chains, we create tasty, quality food in sustainable ways for airlines, foodservice chains, retailers, and institutions.

Fulfilling our purpose to feed and connect communities, SATS delights customers in over 215 locations and 27 countries across Asia Pacific, the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas. SATS has been listed on the Singapore Exchange since May 2000. For more information, please visit www.sats.com.sg

SWISS has recently secured its first-ever validation under Europe’s EMAS provisions for its environmental management system for the 2023 reporting year. SWISS, including Swiss WorldCargo, has also earned the international ISO 14001 certification for environmental management systems. As a result, SWISS will now be publishing an annual environmental report to further underline its commitment to sustainable and responsible business management.

For the first time, the environmental management system of Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), including Swiss WorldCargo, has been validated under the strict criteria of Europe’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and has also been certified under the ISO 14001 international norm. The system is based on the continuous improvement principle and puts a particular focus on the main environmental impacts of the company, and of its business and operations.

EMAS is a voluntary-membership framework, established by the European Union to help companies continuously improve their environmental performance. EMAS validation requires the company to meet all the standards of the ISO 14001 international environmental management norm and satisfy further demands regarding transparency and continuous improvement. EMAS is regarded as the world’s most demanding environmental management system.

In the corresponding EMAS audit, the entire SWISS organization was evaluated by the external environmental verifiers on the extent to which sustainability is anchored within the company’s organization and management, as well as on the overarching collaborations across all staff levels on the ground and in the air. The successful audit of SWISS’ systematic environmental data collection activities and of the management of its environmental objectives applies to the company’s Zurich and Geneva operating sites for the 2023 reporting year and extends to its airfreight division Swiss WorldCargo. The audit was conducted by state-accredited environmental verifiers in the second quarter of 2024. 

“I’m very glad that our consistent sustainability efforts at SWISS and Swiss WorldCargo are being validated with the EMAS quality seal. One of our key responsibilities remains to always operate to the highest standards and this applies to the sustainability field as well, where we constantly strive to progress and act for a more sustainable air cargo industry” says Lorenzo Stoll, Head of Cargo at Swiss International Air Lines.

As part of its broader commitment on the sustainability front and in the context of its EMAS validation, SWISS will now be publishing an annual report on its environmental performance. In taking this step, SWISS is further underlining its commitment to sustainable and responsible business management. In addition to detailed information on the company’s environmental management system, the SWISS 2023 Environmental Report presents key corporate, transport and environmental facts and figures. The report is available for study or download at swiss.com.

About Swiss WorldCargo

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is Switzerland’s largest air carrier. With one of Europe’s most advanced and carbon-efficient aircraft fleets, SWISS is a premium airline that provides direct flights from Zurich and Geneva to keep Switzerland connected with Europe and the world. Its Swiss WorldCargo division offers an extensive range of airport-to-airport airfreight services for high-value, time-critical and care-intensive consignments. As The Airline of Switzerland, SWISS embodies its home country’s traditional values and is dedicated to delivering the highest product and service quality. The company has also committed to the ambitious climate goals of halving its 2019 net carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and making its operations entirely carbon-neutral by 2050, particularly by promoting the use of sustainable aviation fuels. SWISS is part of the Lufthansa Group and is also a member of Star Alliance, the world’s biggest airline network.

Swiss WorldCargo is the first air cargo carrier with an offer incorporating pioneering, high-quality technological solutions to decarbonize aviation. The airfreight division of SWISS launches the premium option ‘Aviation Tech Pioneer’ that combines 20% CO₂ removal through the innovative technology of direct air capture (DAC) and 80% reduction through the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). This new option, added to the existing ones present in the cargo carrier’s portfolio under the Green Choice add-on service, is established in collaboration with the Swiss-based company Climeworks and is aimed to support scaling direct air capture technologies.

Sustainability is a core aspect of both SWISS and Swiss WorldCargo’s strategies, and partnerships in this area play an essential role in getting the company closer to its target of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050. Swiss WorldCargo recognizes the importance of accelerating key technologies and innovation to create a more sustainable future for the air cargo industry and takes action to ensure that significant partnerships are established to drive sustainability initiatives forward.

Swiss WorldCargo’s initiative builds on the carbon removal agreement to remove residual CO₂ emissions signed by SWISS and Lufthansa Group, that was announced in March 2024. Swiss WorldCargo now launches a pilot to integrate carbon removal in its customer offerings, with Climeworks, a Swiss-based leading company that offers high-quality carbon removal services to businesses and individuals. Climeworks provides a permanent solution to a persistent problem, by employing its pioneering direct air capture (DAC) technology to capture CO₂ from the air, which can then be stored permanently underground.

Direct air capture, a technology to permanently remove CO₂ from the air 

With its direct air capture technology, Climeworks is a global leader within the carbon removal field. DAC is a vitally important method of removing CO₂ directly from the atmosphere and storing it permanently underground. The airline sector will need to take advantage of both DAC and further negative-emission technologies if it is to achieve its ambitious carbon emission mitigation goals. Climeworks already operates the world’s two biggest DAC and storage facilities, which are located in Iceland, and has extensive growth plans. More information on Climeworks’ DAC technology is available in the graphic below. DAC technologies also offer a scalable means of procuring atmospheric CO₂ for use as a raw material in manufacturing the next generation of synthetic fuels, which are also known as Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). The use of such synthetic fuels is vital to the decarbonization of the airline sector as well. SWISS and the Lufthansa Group have long been industry pioneers in this field, driving the scale-up of these key fuel technologies.

Swiss WorldCargo’s new premium offering, for reducing CO₂ emissions along the supply chain 

As of today, Swiss WorldCargo’s customers have the possibility to choose the new premium offering, called the ‘Aviation Tech Pioneer’ package, to support driving sustainability initiatives forward through carbon removal with direct air capture (DAC), in combination with an investment in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). In fact, thanks to this new offering, Swiss WorldCargo’s customers now have at disposal an option to not only help the scale-up of critical tech to reach net-zero in aviation, but also act on reaching their scope 3 emission reduction targets to support removing unavoidable emissions from the atmosphere.

With SWISS being Climeworks’ first airline partner, Swiss WorldCargo’s new premium offering reflects SWISS’ ongoing commitment to scale-up key defossilisation technologies. The new offering follows other ongoing initiatives at Swiss WorldCargo, such as investments in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), lightweight containers, and modern aircraft, and has the potential to pave the way for more sustainable practices in the aviation and logistics industries for the years to come.

“We’re excited to realize this first-of-a-kind pilot with Swiss WorldCargo. It serves as an inspiring example for how the aviation industry can accelerate the much-needed scale up of carbon removal within their own industry and beyond” states Laurent Müller, Director of Strategic Partnerships Management of Climeworks.

“At Swiss WorldCargo we’re very glad to be bringing our division one step closer to its environmental goals by establishing this important collaboration. Thanks to Climeworks’ innovative technology, we’re able to offer our customers a premium solution to mitigate the impact of their operations on the environment” says Lorenzo Stoll, Head of Cargo at Swiss International Air Lines Ltd.

About Swiss WorldCargo

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is Switzerland’s largest air carrier. With one of Europe’s most advanced and carbon-efficient aircraft fleets, SWISS is a premium airline that provides direct flights from Zurich and Geneva to keep Switzerland connected with Europe and the world. Its Swiss WorldCargo division offers an extensive range of airport-to-airport airfreight services for high-value, time-critical and care-intensive consignments. As The Airline of Switzerland, SWISS embodies its home country’s traditional values and is dedicated to delivering the highest product and service quality. The company has also committed to the ambitious climate goals of halving its 2019 net carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and making its operations entirely carbon-neutral by 2050, particularly by promoting the use of sustainable aviation fuels. SWISS is part of the Lufthansa Group and is also a member of Star Alliance, the world’s biggest airline network.

About Climeworks

Climeworks is a global leader in carbon dioxide removal (CDR) as a service via direct air capture (DAC) technology, empowering companies to advance their net-zero roadmaps and fight global warming. Founded by engineers Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher in 2009, Climeworks is on a journey to climate impact at scale with integrity at its core and a focus on the highest-quality permanent removals. Climeworks is spearheading the DAC industry globally, with the world’s first and to date largest DAC facility combined with storage installation in commercial operation, modular CO₂ collectors designed for scalability and facilities running exclusively on clean energy. Its growing customer base numbers over 160 companies, including multinationals such as Microsoft, BCG, UBS and Swiss Re. At Orca, Climeworks’s DAC facility in Iceland, the CO₂ is permanently removed from the air by capturing it and geologically storing it for thousands of years with Climeworks’s underground mineralization partner Carbfix. The CDR services delivered from Orca are verified by independent third party DNV.

Swiss WorldCargo, the air freight division of SWISS, Switzerland’s leading air carrier, has broadened its partnership with cargo.one, the leading platform for digital air cargo bookings. cargo.one offers freight forwarders fast and intuitive access to Swiss WorldCargo’s services from markets in Europe, Asia and Americas. Swiss WorldCargo and cargo.one are collaborating with a shared focus on enhancing the customer’s end-to-end digital experience, by providing freight forwarders with accurate and bookable air freight market content.

Swiss WorldCargo is renowned for its expertise in transporting high-value, care-intensive, and temperature-sensitive shipments throughout an extensive network of over 170 destinations worldwide. The cargo carrier combines a solid long-haul reach including Asia Pacific and the Americas, with strong pan-European connectivity. Its high-quality processes, reliable trucking network, professional partnerships, and fast turnaround times in Zurich and Geneva, all ensure an efficient and secure service to freight forwarders worldwide.

Its global partnership with cargo.one expands Swiss WorldCargo’s digital footprint to include a thriving community of thousands of forwarders worldwide. Swiss WorldCargo’s modular product portfolio bookable on the cargo.one platform includes SWISS General Cargo and SWISS Pharma and Healthcare, combinable with the transportation solution Celsius Passive, and the speed option X-Presso for a fast transportation. 

Leveraging cargo.one’s seamless digital booking process, Swiss WorldCargo has extended its characteristic precision and reliability to its external online sales. cargo.one enables the airfreight division of SWISS to reach more freight forwarders in key markets worldwide, while guaranteeing the best possible digital experiences, around the clock. The goal is to integrate all markets into the platform by the end of 2024.

Lorenzo Stoll, Head of Cargo at Swiss International Air Lines Ltd. comments: “Swiss WorldCargo’s customers can find Swiss quality and reliability in everything we do. These values are consistently reflected in our digital proposition as well, in line with our ambitions to provide our customers with Swiss quality service. We are pleased to partner with the digital platform cargo.one to offer an enhanced digital booking experience and market presence.”

Moritz Claussen, Founder and Co-CEO of cargo.one, adds, “Swiss WorldCargo capacity being available on cargo.one is an apt reflection of just how much care we take with each and every digital booking. We are proud to support Swiss WorldCargo in growing its digital presence, and collaborating to bring added long-term value to the market and the industry.”

About Swiss WorldCargo

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is Switzerland’s largest air carrier. With one of Europe’s most advanced and carbon-efficient aircraft fleets, SWISS is a premium airline that provides direct flights from Zurich and Geneva to keep Switzerland connected with Europe and the world. Its division, Swiss WorldCargo, offers an extensive range of airport-to-airport airfreight services for high-value, time-critical and care-intensive consignments. As The Airline of Switzerland, SWISS embodies its home country’s traditional values and is dedicated to delivering the highest product and service quality. SWISS aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by 50% by 2030 compared to 2019 and to achieve net zero (CO2-neutral balance) in 2050 - in line with Switzerland's climate strategy. SWISS is part of the Lufthansa Group and is also a member of Star Alliance, the world’s biggest airline network.

About cargo.one

Founded in 2017, cargo.one (Cargo One GmbH) is a platform for booking and marketing air freight capacity. Trusted by over 20,000 freight forwarders in 116 countries, cargo.one offers instant booking for airline and agent rates across more than 50 airlines, and was the first platform of its kind. 

cargo.one pro equips agents to compare, book and track shipments, leveraging thousands of live and static rates, while importers can book instantly using other verified forwarding partners 24/7. Export agents win new business from import agents worldwide, all secured with global non-payment protection. cargo.one for enterprise offers an extensive range of API suites, delivering the strongest quality real-time market content through one endpoint. Leading forwarders worldwide rely upon cargo.one’s enterprise-ready solutions for instant customer quoting, pricing, and sales.

cargo.one partners with dozens of global airlines and airline groups including Lufthansa, IAG Cargo, Singapore Airlines Cargo, American Airlines, Air Canada, LATAM, TAP Air Portugal, Finnair, Etihad, All Nippon Airways, JAL CARGO, Nippon Cargo Airlines, Eastern Air Logistics, Air France KLM Martinair Cargo, Turkish Cargo and Qatar Airways Cargo. 

cargo.one’s rapidly growing user base includes leading players such as Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, Agility Logistics, DACHSER and Flexport. The company has won awards including ‘Information Technology for the air cargo industry’ in the World Air Cargo Awards 2022 and 2021, 'Air Business of the Year' at the UK Logistics Awards 2022, the 'International IT Systems Provider of the Year’ Award 2023, and ‘Cargo Booking Platform of the Year’ in the Payload Asia Awards 2023. cargo.one is a Trustee of The International Air Cargo Association, TIACA, the highest level of membership.

cargo.one has raised significant funding to date from internationally prominent investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, Index Ventures, Creandum, Next 47, Point Nine Capital and Lufthansa Cargo.

Swiss WorldCargo is pleased to announce the launch of a new route between Zurich and Toronto, Canada, as part of the expansion of its long-haul network, with the new destination being served by SWISS and Swiss WorldCargo as of today. 
 

The addition of Toronto to its international network will support SWISS airfreight division’s efforts to connect economies, cultures, and societies across Canada and Europe, ensuring an interconnected relationship between these key regions. 

As of today, the new route will connect Zurich to Toronto with five weekly flights, employing the same Airbus model – the A333 aircraft – that has served another SWISS’ and Swiss WorldCargo’s recently announced destination, Washington D.C. 

Toronto – Seamless Cargo transport between Swiss and Canadian peaks 

This expansion not only adds to the airfreight division’s current solid network in North America, which includes Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal, New York, Newark, and San Francisco, but also plays a crucial role in serving diverse industries in the Ontario region, such as manufacturing, technology, automotive, and notably, pharmaceutical and healthcare. 

Swiss WorldCargo is committed to keep offering its customers reliable services and products to successfully transport high-value, care-intensive and temperature-sensitive cargo, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector. SWISS airfreight division’s focus on cold chain solutions for the pharmaceutical sector emphasizes its commitment to maintaining the integrity and efficacy of critical healthcare products during transport around the globe. Industries active in the pharmaceutical sector in the Ontario region can thus benefit from Swiss WorldCargo’s comprehensive and reliable logistical solutions. 

“Toronto has emerged as a critical hub in technology, automotive, and healthcare" said Lorenzo Stoll, Head of Cargo at SWISS. "By linking this city with our extensive network, we aim to nurture strong economic ties with the Ontario region, by providing our customers in the area with seamless logistics solutions for the transport of their care-intensive and temperature-sensitive cargo."

For more information about Swiss WorldCargo's products and services, please visit our website. For questions or comments regarding this press release, please contact us at cargo.communications@swiss.com. 

About Swiss WorldCargo

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is Switzerland’s largest air carrier. With one of Europe’s most advanced and carbon-efficient aircraft fleets, SWISS is a premium airline that provides direct flights from Zurich and Geneva to keep Switzerland connected with Europe and the world. Its division, Swiss WorldCargo, offers an extensive range of airport-to-airport airfreight services for high-value, time-critical and care-intensive consignments. As The Airline of Switzerland, SWISS embodies its home country’s traditional values and is dedicated to delivering the highest product and service quality. SWISS aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by 50% by 2030 compared to 2019 and to achieve net zero (CO2-neutral balance) in 2050 - in line with Switzerland's climate strategy. SWISS is part of the Lufthansa Group and is also a member of Star Alliance, the world’s biggest airline network.