Mumbai airport to handle over half of SII's Covishield vaccine

The Mumbai airport already handles 600 tonnes of polio vaccines, produced by SII, a month.

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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The Mumbai airport will be handling over half of the Covishield vaccines coming out of Serum Institute of India's (SII's) Pune facility, helping them distribute within the country, and overseas.

"The Mumbai airport will be catering to Serum Institute of India (SII). While the Pune airport will handle about 40-45 percent of the volumes, MIAL (Mumbai International Airport Ltd) will distribute the rest," MIAL's Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Jain told Moneycontrol.

The Indian government will launch the vaccination drive from January 16, and the transportation of the vaccines may begun from January 11, to ensure a steady supply chain.

Covishield is being jointly developed by Oxford University and British-Swedish company AstraZeneca, in collaboration with SII.

Jain added that 25 tonnes of vaccines will come to the Mumbai airport everyday. "These vaccines have low shelf life and transportation has to be done as soon as possible. We have created a system such that it won't take more than 25 minutes for the vaccine shipment to cross the cargo terminal and board the aircraft," the senior executive added.

MIAL already has a capability in handling sensitive pharmaceuticals shipments, with a capacity to handle 200 tonnes of vaccines a day. "We have the cold storage facilities needed to store these vaccines," Jain said.

The airport already handles 600 tonnes of polio vaccines, produced by SII, a month. "That is nearly about 20 tonnes a day. We are equipped in vaccine logistics," said Jain.

MIAL runs Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, the second largest in the country.

Apart from the Mumbai airport, the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad will also have a critical role, as the southern metro is home to Bharat Biotech, which is making Covaxin. Also, Dr Reddy's Lab, which won the contract to test and manufacture Russia's Sputnik vaccine, is also based in Hyderabad.

Covishield and Covaxin have got the nod from the government for emergency use.

SII, which is the world's largest maker of vaccines, exports to more than 100 countries, but Pune's airport is not fully capable to handle the volumes. The Pune airport is controlled and owned by the Indian Air Force, and is undergoing runway resurfacing. It is closed from 8 pm to 8 am, limiting its ability to transport vaccines.