CUSTOMS authorities based at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport have teamed up with the airfreight station at the Pearl River Delta airport to launch the "customs application in the air" scheme.
The new service has been designed to reduce the time taken by airport customs officers to clear airfreight on the ground, Xinhua reports.
Air cargo carriers and shippers participating in the new scheme are now able to send cargo manifests and make bookings with the airport's customs office straight after the freighters have been loaded with cargo and mail and taken off from airports overseas.
The report said that by contacting customs authorities before the cargo flight has arrived at Baiyun Airport, shippers and freight forwarders will be able to collect their airfreight about one hour after the plane has landed, shaving about an hour-and-a-half off average clearance times.