- 860 tons were transported in the first three months of the year, compared to 613 tons in the same period of 2024.
- LATAM Cargo Group is currently the largest cargo operator from Europe to South America
São Paulo, April 11, 2025 – LATAM Cargo Group, the cargo affiliate of the LATAM group, reported a 40% increase in the volume of pharmaceutical products transported from Europe to Brazil between January and March 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. A total of 860 tons of pharmaceutical cargo were transported in the first quarter of this year, up from 613 tons during the same period last year. The airports of Guarulhos (São Paulo), Curitiba (Paraná), and Viracopos (Campinas) lead the ranking of destinations receiving this type of cargo in Brazil, primarily originating from Frankfurt (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), and Brussels (Belgium).
According to Jorge Carretero, Sales Manager for LATAM Airlines Group in Europe, “this growth reaffirms LATAM’s commitment to bringing businesses closer and streamlining cargo transport between the European market and Brazil. We will continue working diligently to contribute to the supply of pharmaceutical products for the Brazilian population.”
Today, the LATAM group’s cargo affiliates establish themselves as a leader in pharmaceutical transport thanks to its specialized Pharma product, state-of-the-art handling facilities, and flexibility in offering customized flights to specific destinations.
COLD CHAIN
LATAM has made significant investments in quality control and continuous improvement by closely monitoring its cold chain processes using proprietary tracking devices. By leveraging this data, the airline has been able to identify potential weak points in the cold chain and swiftly implement corrective actions and best practices to ensure the integrity and safety of pharmaceutical shipments. This has allowed the LATAM group to expand its PHARMA network by 50% in recent years, with an increase of nearly 40% in the kilos of pharmaceutical products transported from Europe compared to 2023.
Furthermore, the LATAM Cargo Group recently received its CEIV Pharma recertification from the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV). The company was the first airline in the Americas to obtain this certification back in 2017, reinforcing its commitment to maintaining the highest standards in pharmaceutical transport, ensuring continuous improvement, and a solid operational structure for cargo handling and management.
LATAM Cargo Group is currently the largest cargo operator from Europe to South America. Credit: LATAM Disclosure)
LATAM INVESTS IN BRAZIL
LATAM has made several investments in Brazil, covering both its domestic and international cargo operations.
Among these, in July 2024, the company began transporting cargo in the belly hold of passenger aircraft operating flights to/from Vitória da Conquista airport (VDC) in Bahia, making it the fourth airport in the state with LATAM’s cargo operations, following Salvador, Ilhéus, and Porto Seguro. Additionally, it expanded its operational capacity by 50% with a new warehouse at Guarulhos airport in São Paulo to accommodate the growth of its operations in the coming years.
Attuned to market changes and demands, which increasingly seek agile and secure logistics in a continental-sized country like Brazil, LATAM Cargo Brasil announced last month a partnership with Amazon for product delivery across eleven states in three Brazilian regions (North, Northeast, and Central-West), reducing shipping times for Amazon Brazil packages to as little as two days.
In the international market, since late 2023, LATAM group has launched three new freighter routes to Brazil: Miami-São José dos Campos (started with 2 and now operates 3 weekly flights); Miami-Brasília (2 weekly flights); and Amsterdam-Curitiba (2 weekly flights). It also increased the frequency from 2 to 3 weekly flights on the Miami-Florianópolis route, initially launched in 2020. Also in 2024, it initiated a new cargo route between Europe and Florianópolis with two weekly flights, facilitating the transport of international cargo between Europe and the state of Santa Catarina.
For this year, the LATAM group forecasts growth of up to 4% in its capacity measured in ATK (Available Tonne Kilometers) and up to 8% in its domestic seat supply measured in ASK (Available Seat Kilometers) in Brazil. This also reflects an increase in capacity for transporting cargo in the belly holds of passenger aircraft operating in the domestic market.