GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo invests in multi-ULD cool dolly

GMR Hyderabad International Airport has inducted a unique multi-ULD (Unit Load Device) cool dolly to maintain unbroken cold chain for Time and Temperature Sensitive (TSS) shipments such as pharmaceuticals and perishables.

With the multi ULD cool dolly, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHAIL) is now poised to serve its customers with a seamless and controlled environment at the airport for handling their critical and highly temperature-sensitive commodities. Comprising of a steel trailer and an aluminium insulated container, the cool dolly acts as a mobile storage unit from Air Cargo Terminal to the aircraft. They provide an unbroken cold chain to all the perishable shipments of temperatures of +2°C to +8°C and +15°C to +25°C and can handle around 7 tonnes of cargo in a single trip.

Speaking on this development, Pradeep Panicker, CEO, GHIAL, said, “We are continuously striving to provide our customers with innovative and sustainably-designed cargo handling solutions. Cool Dolly is a crucial value addition to the unbroken cold chain at Hyderabad International Airport for life saving and temperature sensitive cargo. With more than 70 percent of cargo being pharma, our Cool dolly has enhanced the airport’s capabilities multi-fold in our efforts to provide customers safe handling of the essential cargo such as Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines, Fruits, Vegetables and other perishables.”

The multi ULD cool dolly at Hyderabad Air Cargo was virtually launched today by Vandana Aggarwal (IES), senior economic advisor, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) during the third webinar on “Air cargo-changing dimensions” organised by GMR Group, as part of its ongoing webinar series on ‘Reposing the faith in flying’.

Cool Dollies counter hostile temperatures and smoothly facilitate the increasing traffic of Temperature Sensitive Pharmaceuticals & other Perishables. Despite short transfer times from the Terminal Building to Aircraft, hot runways during summers can seriously compromise the efficacy of the lifesaving pharmaceutical products and shelf life of other perishables.

The Cool Dolly ensures that these highly-sensitive commodities are transshipped in a seamless and controlled environment throughout their journey. It has been designed to accommodate various configurations of ULD loading and does not have any restrictions to cater all kinds of Aircrafts - Narrow or Wide body aircrafts (Passenger belly or Freighter aircrafts).

The Cool Dolly is designed with several unique features to eliminate operational challenges and reduce the time taken for handling. Features like Dual-side opening for effortless loading & unloading of ULDs, Flexible Locking System to safeguard the Cargo Pallets positioned during the movement, Non-slip flooring and excellent heat insulation.

The Cool Dolly is also equipped with data logger for efficient temperature management, enhanced cargo protection and to monitor the temperature reading during live operation. The Cool Dolly at Hyderabad International Airport can carry 7 tonnes capacity of AC unit along with in-built power backup keeping the products safe and sacrosanct.