American Airlines Cargo has officially opened a new ‘ExpediteTC°’ cold storage facility at Philadelphia International Airport.

Strategically sited in the northeast ‘pharmaceutical corridor,’ the new 25,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility allows for the safe and reliable transfer of highly valuable medical and life science products.

“With a variety of temperature control options, this facility was designed to maintain full integrity of your most sensitive shipments,” the cargo carrier said, with specific features including 6,000 square feet for control room temperature (CRT) passive shipments at +15°C and +25°C; 3,000 square feet that maintain a +2°C to +8°C cold environment; and a “deep frozen” area for shipments between -10°C and -20°C.

In addition, it offers a zoned “active container management” area with powered charging stations for up to 30 electronically controlled units; advanced technology for 24/7 monitoring of products, including proactive alarming, validated to 0.25°C; and full backup power generators in the event of a power failure.

American Air cargo currently maintains CRT rooms in key air cargo hubs across its network, including Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago-O’Hare, Miami, San Juan, and New York-JFK.

In May, the carrier dedicated a new 300 square-foot CRT facility at its cargo warehouse at London Heathrow Airport, its first “Control Room Temperature” room in Europe.

The new CRT room “This new room and its constant temperature will assist shippers and forwarders with two-day packages by helping to extend the life of gel packs used within the packaging,” said Tristan Koch, managing director of cargo sales in Europe.

The facility “will be of special interest to our Irish pharmaceutical customers, who have goods that transit London Heathrow on the way to other international destinations.”