56.6 tonnes of Sputnik V vaccine arrive in Hyderabad on special flight from Russia

HYDERABAD: A major consignment from Russia of 56.6 tonnes of the Sputnik V vaccine arrived on a specially chartered freighter RU-9450 at Hyderabad International Airport on Tuesday morning.

According to airport authorities GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC), this was the single largest import shipment of COVID-19 vaccines till date in India. The freighter arrived at 3.43 am and the shipment completed all processes and was dispatched in less than 90 minutes.

The Sputnik V vaccine needs specialised handling and storage, requiring to be kept at a temperature of -20° C.

Major pharma companies based in and around Hyderabad are expected to produce or import over 3.5 billion doses of different COVID vaccines over the next couple of years and GHAC is well equipped to handle the surge in vaccine shipments.