Cathay Cargo has become the first carrier to offer customers in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) direct multi-modal links for upstream cargo acceptance, allowing flight-ready exports to be accepted and built up in Dongguan, then transported directly to Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).
Thanks to an agreement with the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), shipments can be security screened, built up and accepted as cargo for flights at the HKIA Logistics Park in Dongguan, before being loaded onto ships to a secured area at HKIA. When they arrive, pallets and ULDs can be towed straight to waiting aircraft.
Cathay Pacific Services Ltd (CPSL), which operates the Cathay Cargo Terminal is also the first Hong Kong cargo terminal operator to sign an air cargo service agreement with AAHK to operate in the pilot scheme. It has established its own upstream bonded facility – Cathay Cargo Terminal Dongguan – located at the Logistics Park Pilot Scheme in Dongguan.
‘We are delighted to join hands with AAHK to promote the economic growth of Hong Kong and the region, while further strengthening HKIA’s status as an international aviation hub by using this first and only upstream facility of its kind,’ says Director Cargo Tom Owen. He adds that the business is looking forward to offering this new option to the Hong Kong logistics industry, and developing exports from – and then over the coming months, imports into – the GBA, which is a focus area for the airline.
Eligibility for the scheme
The scheme is open to Hong Kong freight forwarders that are ‘regulated agents’ (RAs). They will need to obtain acceptance from the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department (CAD) for their application of Supplementary Pages to Regulated Agent Security Programme (RASP), which extend the RAs’ remit to upstream operations. The HKIA Logistics Park in Dongguan uses CAD-approved X-ray machines and Explosive Trace Detectors, which are operated by staff from AVSECO, which provides Hong Kong’s aviation security services.