Four Chinese courier firms have been banned from shipping goods on passenger aircraft after theybroke security rules and endangered safety by improperly transporting a prohibited substance that
caused a fire and incorrectly transported lithium batteries.The four firms, Shanghai YTO, Yunda Express, Huixing and Qihang, will have to suspend theirairfreight services until their business procedures improve, the China Air Transport Association(CATA) announced yesterday. CATA members, comprising Chinese airlines, should refuse to accepttheir shipments while the suspension applied.
The official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that a fire started in a storage bin of a ChinaSouthern flight on October 22 after the plane landed at Dalian Zhoushuizi Airport due to thespontaneous combustion of inflammable materials belonging to logistics firms. There was no seriousdamage or injury.
Shanghai YTO was to blame for its incorrect classification of lithium batteries, while the otherlogistics firms were punished for transporting the prohibited article vesuvian, which caused thefire, according to CATA.
Shanghai YTO has admitted negligence in security checks but claimed that its express deliverieswill not be affected by the ban, Xinhua said.
The Global Times newspaper said that YTO staff had not had time to inspect the shipment but thecompany has now promised to improve its inspections. However, CATA expects it will take YTO atleast a year to regain permission to ship goods on passenger aircraft.
