Passengers head for their flights at the Pudong International Airport. [Photo/ Shanghai Observer]
Thanks to China’s visa-free policy, the number of foreign travelers passing through the Shanghai Pudong International Airport has more than doubled this year, with less time spent at customs, according to the Shanghai Customs.
In the first 11 months of this year, the airport handled over 29 million travelers entering and leaving China, nearly double the number from the previous year, according to the Shanghai Customs.
Of these travelers, more than 9 million were foreign passengers, a 1.7-fold year-on-year increase.
During the same period, inbound and outbound flights at the airport rose by 60.6 percent.
Since the end of last year, China has rolled out a unilateral visa-free policy for citizens from 38 countries, including the nine countries newly added on Nov 30 – namely Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia and Japan.
To better serve international travelers, the Pudong airport has streamlined its border check procedures by introducing intelligent inspection equipment.
As a result, the average customs clearance time has been reduced by half compared with last year.
Most passengers now experience swift border clearances without extended waiting times or cumbersome luggage handling.
For example, after flight JL 891 from Tokyo landed in Shanghai on Nov 30, the 152 passengers onboard completed customs procedures in just 30 minutes.
Source: Shanghai Observer
,https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-Latest-WhatsNew/20241204/f1a1108b68db4cc29f789ef0d14c2194.html