<p data-path-to-node="3" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="3" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">DHAKA / BRUSSELS</b> — In a major expansion of South Asia's life-sciences logistics capabilities, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Cargo, in strategic partnership with a consortium of leading European cold-chain freight forwarders and ground-handling integrators, has officially launched a scheduled, direct temperature-controlled air service linking Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (DAC) in Dhaka directly with Brussels Airport (BRU).</p><p data-path-to-node="4" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">The dedicated "Pharma Express" operation deploys Biman’s widebody <b data-path-to-node="4" data-index-in-node="66" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Boeing 777-300ER</b> passenger fleet operating in optimized bellyhold freight configurations. The service provides a direct, GDP-certified (Good Distribution Practice) pharmaceutical airbridge connecting Bangladesh’s high-growth pharmaceutical and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production belt directly into Europe’s primary healthcare and vaccine distribution nexus.</p><p data-path-to-node="6" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="6" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Thermal Integrity &amp; Active Aircraft Microclimate Architecture</b></p><p data-path-to-node="7" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Historically, Bangladeshi pharmaceutical exporters shipping to European markets faced complex logistical friction. High-value formulations and oncology therapies typically moved via multi-leg routes requiring transshipment and cross-docking across intermediate hubs in the Middle East or Southeast Asia. During peak summer and desert-crossing transits, these multi-touch handovers exposed consignments to severe ambient heat and tarmac excursion risks.</p><p data-path-to-node="8" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">The newly activated direct Dhaka–Brussels route addresses these challenges by incorporating advanced end-to-end cold-chain systems:</p><ul data-path-to-node="9" style="padding-inline-start: 32px; font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="9,0,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="9,0,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Active Telemetry &amp; Dry-Ice ULD Integration:</b> The service deploys certified active temperature-controlled Unit Load Devices (ULDs) and hybrid thermal containers capable of maintaining consistent microclimates across cryogenic (-20°C), chilled (+2°C to +8°C), and controlled room temperature (+15°C to +25°C) bands.</p></li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="9,1,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="9,1,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Automated Environmental Telemetry:</b> Every consignment is outfitted with real-time IoT wireless loggers that transmit live temperature, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, and geo-location data directly to centralized 24/7 Pharma Control Towers in Dhaka and Brussels.</p></li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="9,2,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="9,2,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Direct Airside Apron Transfers:</b> At Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, pharma payloads move through dedicated airside bonded cold-storage bays and motorized, insulated cool dollies, bypassing general cargo queues and eliminating the "tarmac thermal gap."</p></li></ul><p data-path-to-node="11" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="14" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Elevating Bangladesh’s High-Value Life-Sciences Exports</b></p><p data-path-to-node="15" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">While Bangladesh's air export volumes have historically been dominated by ready-made garments (RMG), the country’s biopharmaceutical manufacturing sector has scaled aggressively. Modern manufacturing complexes across Gazipur, Savar, and the Munshiganj Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) Industrial Park produce specialized generic formulations, biosimilars, and injectables for global distribution.</p><p data-path-to-node="16" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">The selection of <b data-path-to-node="16" data-index-in-node="17" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Brussels Airport</b> as the European gateway provides direct access to Europe's densest pharmaceutical logistics ecosystem. With extensive specialized GDP-compliant cold-storage facilities, airside pharma corridors, and bonded road feeder networks (RFS) radiating from Brussels, Bangladeshi drugmakers can now deliver finished healthcare formulations to hospitals, distributors, and clinical trial centers across Western and Central Europe within 24 hours of flight departure.</p><p data-path-to-node="18" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="18" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Industry Perspectives</b></p><p data-path-to-node="19" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Speaking during the tarmac departure of the inaugural flight at Dhaka, representatives from Biman Bangladesh Cargo and the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) emphasized the strategic value of sovereign, non-stop air connectivity:</p><p data-path-to-node="20" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><i data-path-to-node="20" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">"Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical manufacturers are increasingly competing in highly regulated, quality-sensitive global markets. By establishing a direct, GDP-compliant air corridor to the heart of the European Union, Biman Cargo eliminates the risks of temperature spikes and transit delays associated with traditional transshipment hubs. This scheduled service provides our healthcare manufacturers with the speed, visibility, and thermal assurance required to meet stringent international standards."</i></p><p data-path-to-node="21" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Biman Cargo confirmed that following the initial rollout, weekly frequencies will scale alongside seasonal demand, with reciprocal return legs carrying European clinical trial materials, fine active ingredients, and precision healthcare technology back to South Asian laboratories.</p>