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Stella Lee

The mainland taskforce entrusted with clearing cargo diverted from Hong Kong has been left idle as airlines snub the contingency plan to use Shenzhen airport.

 Only Korean Air has applied to fly to Shenzhen, while most forwarding agents say they doubt the system's efficiency.

 The taskforce started operating on Tuesday after Beijing approved the contingency plan.

 The Civil Aviation General Administration of China yesterday said Korean Air had applied to fly four cargo flights to Shenzhen between July 23 and 30.

 An administration spokesman said the application had been approved under priority screening, which shortens processing time from the usual 14 days to one.

 Korean Air's Hong Kong office said it had not received instructions from headquarters in Seoul about the new arrangement. A spokesman said it expected cargo to be delayed by one day if flying through Shenzhen.

 But most airlines contacted yesterday chose to adopt a wait-and-see attitude.

 Cathay Pacific Airways, Japan Airlines and Northwest Airlines said they would consider using Shenzhen on clients' requests.

 Taiwan's China Airlines rejected the Beijing offer to use Shenzhen as 'a propaganda ploy'.

 A freight forwarding agent yesterday said the decision to use Shenzhen would have a long-term impact on their industry.

 'This is a bad step by the Government. If cargo importing and exporting to China can be directly handled on the mainland, we will lose a lot of business,' the agent said.

 He said they had been forced to pay extra charges for limited freight space due to keen competition among agents to get their cargo imported or exported on time during the crisis.

 'We have to pay an extra 60 per cent to airlines for using Macau airport while local charges have increased by about 10 per cent,' he said.

 Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding Agents chairman Anthony Lau Siu-wing said they had to study details of the Customs clearance procedures before a decision could be made.

 An agent, Cargo Express International, said it would rather use Macau airport than divert goods to Shenzhen.

 A forwarding agent complained of missing a cargo flight to France on Tuesday after waiting at a mainland Customs post for more than three hours for paperwork to be completed.

 Almost 3,700 tonnes of Hong Kong air cargo were handled yesterday, including 900 tonnes moved via Macau. The total amounted to three-quarters of the quantity normally handled in the past.

 By 4.30pm, there had been 14 arrivals and 11 departures of cargo flights at Chek Lap Kok.



Airlines, agents wary of Shenzhen airport