Air Freight for Medical Supplies: When 72 Hours Is the Entire Window
A hospital’s surgical supply is depleted. A biologic batch needs to cross the Atlantic at 2°C–8°C with continuous temperature documentation. An investigational product has to reach 12 trial sites on three continents before Monday. These shipments cannot absorb the delays, handoffs, or compliance gaps that come with generic freight forwarding.
Our Capabilities
Priority Air
Temp-Controlled
Dangerous Goods
Same-Day Docs
IATA Certified
24/7 Ops
Cold Chain Air Freight
Pharmaceutical cold chain air freight requires more than a cold storage unit at the airport.
ISTA 7D/7E qualified passive thermal shippers — EPS, polyurethane, VIP-lined — with phase-change materials matched to your product’s acceptable range. Not generic “cold chain shippers.” Active Envirotainer C2 and DoKaSch Opticooler containers for large or high-value shipments at 2°C–8°C. CSafe GLD for ULT deep-frozen cargo. Cryoport Express vapor-phase LN2 for cryogenic cell and gene therapy shipments.
IATA CEIV Pharma Carrier Routing
IATA Dangerous Goods — Medical
Medical shipments contain IATA dangerous goods more often than most shippers realize. Misclassification is a regulatory violation and an airline rejection risk.
Dry Ice — UN 1845, Class 9. Required for frozen pharmaceutical cold chain. CO2-venting packaging, 200kg maximum per package, UN 1845 marking, net weight declared, Shipper’s Declaration for Dangerous Goods. Every dry ice shipment, no exceptions.
Radioactive Materials — Class 7. Radiopharmaceuticals: FDG for PET imaging, Tc-99m generators, I-131 for thyroid treatment. Type A packaging, activity limits per IATA Table 10.1, 48-hour airline pre-notification, coordination with radiation safety officers.
Priority & Emergency Air Freight
When a shipment has no room for schedule drift: express priority routing with guaranteed transit time; next-flight-out (NFO) on the earliest available departure regardless of day or hour; on-board courier (OBC) where a dedicated carrier carries the shipment as personal baggage — fastest possible transit, continuous chain of custody, real-time status.
Charter cargo coordination for large-scale emergency medical operations when commercial capacity is insufficient: full and part-charter solutions, departure from secondary airports when supply location requires it, IATA DG-compliant charter documentation, coordinated ground handling and customs clearance at both ends.
Emergency cold chain activation — pre-conditioned passive shippers at 2°C–8°C, -20°C, and -70°C — available within hours of request. Our 24/7 emergency freight desk coordinates all priority services.
Ready to Ship Medical Cargo with Confidence?
Get a quote from MedShip — specialist medical freight backed by a licensed U.S. Customs House Broker.