The Shanghai Airport Authority is planning to encourage carriers to launch more night cargo flights at Pudong International Airport to ease both daytime traffic and to meet the growing demand for air freight delivery.

Senior officials of the Shanghai Airport Authority, the body which runs the two local airports, said yesterday they will open more nighttime slots for freight carriers between midnight and 6 am, a period when few flights operate.

Daytime flight numbers, especially those between 8 am and 10 pm, are already close to the runway's designed capacity.

"We're very glad to hear about such policies. Unlike passenger flights, air freight services don't care about the takeoff time. It will largely help us increase our services to meet the growing demand from freight owners," said Feng Jin, marketing manager of China Cargo Airlines Co Ltd, one of the country's all-cargo air carriers.

Air freight volume through the two Shanghai airports has maintained an annual growth rate of more than 20 percent in recent years. It will reach 1.6 million tons this year.

Pudong International Airport handled 746,535 tons of freight and mail in 2002, a year-on-year increase of 79 percent. The two airports together handled about 1.32 million tons of freight and mail last year, a 31.67 percent rise year-on-year.

In addition, for companies in neighboring cities which want to export their goods through Shanghai airports, they will likely see their transportation costs and delivery time reduced soon.

According to yesterday's meeting, the authority is working with customs officials and air carriers to help freight owners in neighboring cities, such as Suzhou and Wuxi, to deliver their goods to the closer Hongqiao Airport.

After delivering their freight to Hongqiao, the freight owners could leave the rest of the transportation details for the air carriers to handle. Airline companies would then transport such freight from Hongqiao to Pudong during the night when traffic between the two airports is much less.

"The distance between Hongqiao and Pudong is more than 50 kilometers. With more and more traffic jams taking place recently, the new service could save us hours," said Zhang Yimin, general manager of a Suzhou-based logistic service provider.

Officials are now hurrying to test the system and collect responses from freight owners. It will be put into trial operation starting next year.

City officials also plan to improve traffic between Shanghai and the neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces in hopes of making it more convenient for passengers to get to the Pudong airport.

The city plans to increase the number of highways linking Shanghai and Zhejiang and Jiangsu by four and six, respectively, by 2005.

A new road linking the Pudong airport with the Outer Ring Road is also under planning.

It is expected to begin construction next year.

Highway-widening projects linking Shanghai with Nanjing and Hangzhou are expected to be completed by 2007, according to officials.

Traffic on the two highways has increasingly become more congested in recent years with a growing number of vehicles.

Close

Today's Top News		Top Business News
+Wen: China, Mexico are partners, not competitors ( 2003-12-14) +Power shortages darken Southern China ( 2003-12-14) +Price index rises to six-year high ( 2003-12-12) +Furniture makers confident US dumping charges doomed ( 2003-12-12) +Premier: Visit to US important, successful ( 2003-12-12)		+New night flights set for cargo in SHanghai ( 2003-12-14) +Beijing urban rail line to be put into trial operation ( 2003-12-14) +Power shortages darken Southern China ( 2003-12-14) +More flights for festival ( 2003-12-14) +Honda to launch popular Fit model in China ( 2003-12-14)