Transporting healthcare and life science products such as vaccines or medication quickly and safely is more important now than ever. Not only are the products themselves time and temperature sensitive, but the people they are meant to help must be assured of the effectiveness and all time availability.

The TCR contains all the information and requirements you need to ship compliant temperature-sensitive products. Accessing up-to-date carrier and government regulations, packaging requirements and documentation before you ship, reduces losses and improves patient health.

What's inside the TCR?

  • Applicability (shipper and carrier responsibilities, special handling conditions and transport conditions, compliance)
  • Government regulations (compliance requirements, variations by country)
  • Carrier regulations (general information, requirements and carrier variations)
  • Pharmaceutical facts and product types (temperature levels, market trends, product categories, biomedical research)
  • Packaging (general information, types and categories of packaging)
  • Documentation and labelling (specific documents, handling codes, labelling, marketing, WHO vaccine references)
  • Acceptance and control (processes, hazard analysis, cold chain management, handling information)
  • Traceability and tracking (general, RFID)
  • Air transport logistics (service levels, temperature ranges, packaging technology, risk factors, critical control points, temperature mapping, healthcare labelling, quality management, environmental considerations)

Still not sure if the TCR is for you? Download the full table of contents.

Stay up-to-date

Significant Changes and Amendments to the 15th edition (2027) of the IATA Temperature Control Regulations (TCR) include: 

General Updates

  • Updated IATA training references.
  • Revised LAPB and HCWG memberships.

Operator Variations

  • Operator Variations updated: American Airlines (AA), British Airways (BA), China Airlines (CI), Aer Lingus (EI), Iberia (IB), LEVEL (LL).

Booking & Planning

  • Added clarification on dry ice quantity. .
  • Expanded booking requirements, including contingency planning and documentation for Precision Therapy shipments.

Healthcare Shipments

  • New guidance for Precision Therapies.
  • Clarification of security screening exemptions determined by national authorities.

Handling Procedures

  • Alignment with the Master Operating Plan (MOP).
  • Enhanced requirements for quality management, ground transportation, warehouse handling, training, and documented procedures.
  • New requirements to ensure transport equipment is fit for purpose and temperature integrity is maintained throughout the supply chain.

Compliance & Definitions

  • Added PLACI requirements.
  • Updated healthcare-related glossary definitions, including a new definition for Time and Temperature-Sensitive Products.
  • Continued transition to “must” terminology and  use of the metric system instead of imperial measurements.