Shanghai Airport Authority Devoted to Smooth Cargo Operation

2022-03-28

Shanghai Airport Authority responded firmly to the updated health control requirements of the Shanghai Municipal Government, rapidly tightening the pandemic control and providing contingent supports to ensure the safe and smooth operation of airports. Frontline employees and standby staff answered the calls quickly, persisting on working or returning overnight, to support the airport services safe and normal. From March 28 to April 8, Pudong International Airport accommodated 1,408 cargo flights with cargo volume of 48,100 tons.

On the night of March 27th, more than 7,400 frontline employees and staff at standby were called back and returned overnight in the cargo handling area of Pudong Airport for close-circuit cargo operations. As fully enclosed control and static management is exercised in the whole cargo area, all people within the area, while undergoing PCR test each day, are provided with accommodations and foods as well as other logistics services. In accordance with the operation characteristics of cargo flights, Shanghai Airport Authority insists on minimizing moving around of workers in the cargo area and ensuring employees 24-hour standby, committing special devotions at unusual times to epidemic control and smooth cargo operation.

Shanghai Airport Authority cooperated with the Customs, airlines and freight forwarders to open a "green channel" for special supplies at Pudong Airport Cargo Terminal, upgrading the handling process of anti-epidemic supplies to the top priority. On the evening of April 5, a Pharmaceutical company in Shanghai called and requested quick pickup of a batch of PCR equipments, which are mainly used for COVID-19 prevention in hospitals and public health institutions. The Cargo Terminal instantly initiated the cooperation with the Customs, the airline and the freight forwarder. Within 2 hours, 11 waybills and 10 PCR equipments were transferred from the cargo terminal to the warehouse of the Customs, assisting the pharmaceutical company to pick up the shipment at the fastest speed.

A special cold-chain team established at the Cargo Terminal of Pudong International Airport focuses on ensuring the efficient handling of imported cold chain fresh goods related to people's livelihood. In the early morning of March 28th, a shipment of fresh food with a total weight of 3 tons from Chile arrived in PVG. The team handled the disinfected cargo through green channel and completed the express pickup of the good in the afternoon of the day with the support of the Customs. From March 28 to April 8, there were 442 shipments of imported cold-chain fresh supplies weighing 870.6 tons handled efficiently at Pudong International Airport.

During the grid screening period in Shanghai, Shanghai Airport Authority joined hands with the Customs, establishing an inspection way of “unaccompanied” for special supplies for scientific research and urgent materials when the consignee or its representative cannot be on site for the Customs inspection. At noon of April 9th, the Customs requested Pudong Airport Cargo Terminal to expedite a special shipment of imported COVID-19 antibodies. As the consignee could not come to the airport due to the quarantine, Pudong Airport Cargo Terminal immediately applied the “unaccompanied” inspection procedure and completed the task within one hour. In this way, many supplies for scientific research and urgent materials have been efficiently handled at Pudong International Airport.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Shanghai Airport Authority, while coordinating and balancing the pandemic prevention and safe airport operations, has accommodated nearly one-third of China's international flights and handled almost half of China's international air cargos. Currently, there are over 10,000 employees working at the airports of Shanghai, devoted to the smooth and safe airport operation, as well as the stability of the international industrial chain and supply chain.