DGCA issues guidelines to airlines on transportation of COVID-19 vaccines

Aviation regulator DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) on Friday issued guidelines to all aircraft operators who plan to transport COVID-19 vaccines packed in dry ice to various parts of the country. If vaccines packed in dry ice are being transported in the passenger cabin of an aircraft, then the flight crew should be properly trained on the hazards and risks of its transportation, it noted.

Dry ice transforms into carbon dioxide gas at temperatures higher than -78 degrees Celsius under normal atmospheric pressure and, therefore, it is classified as "dangerous goods" by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), it said.

The DGCA said that adequate carbon dioxide detectors should be available in the cabin, for timely and reliable detection of dangerous concentration of carbon dioxide.

"All operators while engaging in transportation of COVID-19 vaccines packed with dry ice shall establish the maximum quantity of dry ice that can be loaded in a given cargo hold or in the main deck (passenger cabin) when a passenger version is deployed for all cargo operations," the DGCA guidelines said.

All scheduled aircraft operators who have been currently authorised to carry dangerous goods may carry COVID-19 vaccine packed in dry ice, while meeting the regulatory requirements,  the DGCA guidelines said.

"It is needless to say that amongst the various modes of transport, air transport is the most efficient option. Hence, it is imperative that air logistics provide a well-defined procedure that meets the global safety standards and requirements based on local conditions," it added.

Regarding the requirement of packaging the vaccines with dry ice, the DGCA said that the temperature maintenance requirement for COVID-19 vaccines is reported to be varying from minus 8 degrees Celsius to minus 70 degrees Celsius and hence, the use of refrigerant material during the transportation becomes essential.

The country is preparing for the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines and the second nationwide mock drill on the drive was conducted on Friday.

India's drugs regulator has approved Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, being manufactured by the Serum Institute, and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Friday that the COVID-19 vaccine would be made available “to the countrymen” in the next few days, giving priority to those at risk such as healthcare professionals. "We are in the process of ensuring that in the next few days, also in the near future, we should be able to give this vaccines to our countrymen, starting with of course prioritising those who are most at risk, our health professionals, healthcare workers in the public and private sector followed by frontline workers," he told reporters.

The overall scheme of administering vaccination, which places importance on healthcare professionals, frontline workers like police and for others in subsequent stages, has already been made known to all stakeholders, he said.

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(With inputs from IANS)