The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has awarded Swissport Kenya with the prestigious IATA CEIV Fresh certification for perishable cargo, making it the only ground handler with this certification at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
The facility was the first to be CEIV certified in Africa and Swissport’s 9th to be given the status in February of 2020.
Following the successful completion of the IATA CEIV Fresh program, Swissport Kenya is also the first ground services provider in Sub-Saharan Africa to attain this certification.
“In February 2020, Swissport’s operations in Nairobi were awarded with the IATA CEIV Pharma certification, establishing the first Swissport Pharma Center on the African continent. With the added CEIV Fresh certification, we are now very proud to offer our customer airlines a secure and certified cool-chain process across the board,” said Racheal Ndegwa, CEO of Swissport in Kenya.
“With 27 years of experience handling perishable goods in Nairobi, this certification attests to the organization’s robust, efficient and sustainable processes for handling perishable cargo, as well its high-quality training programs.”
This recognition underwrites Swissport’s ambitions to ensure that delicate and short-shelf life products reach their final destination unspoiled and with minimal waste. The certification scope includes Swissport Kenya’s Cargo Handling facility and Ground Services processes.
Since the opening of Nairobi logistics centre in 2010, Swissport has continued to develop the facilities to accommodate pharmaceuticals at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) and is part of Swissport’s global network of 1155 warehouses.
Swissport have since invested in state-of-the-art temperature-controlled area with 208 rack positions and a capacity of 250 tonnes of pharmaceutical shipments. Nairobi is a major hub for perishables in East and Central Africa and perishables represent about 80% of cargo handled by Swissport Kenya.
By Victor Shalton Odhiamboa
