International flights bound for Beijing should report the personal information of passengers to the Beijing General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection before landing from today via the Advanced Passenger Information (API) system, Beijing News reported.

The API system will shorten the time for passengers to pass customs, the inspection station said, according to the report.

The required information includes the name, nationality, gender, date of birth and passport validity of all passengers and flight crew of inbound planes.

According to the rule, once an international flight takes off, all passenger information should be sent to the frontier inspection station through a special network. Frontier officials can begin processing the information two hours before the flight arrives and raise working efficiency.

Any airline which fails to supply the API, or offers inaccurate information will be fined at least 10,000 yuan (US$1,449) per case, the report said.

Chinese airports and airlines have enacted several measures to ensure passenger safety on flights. This included banning passengers from carrying liquids on domestic flights in March after two suspected terrorists were caught on a plane flying from Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to Beijing that month.

The move was also part of efforts to ensure security before the upcoming Beijing Olympics, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) had said.

Passengers in some cities including Shanghai, Wuhan, Guilin, Jinan and Zhengzhou were not permitted to carry more than two lithium batteries onboard for each electronic item from late March, a further step taken by CAAC to ensure flight security.

On March 26, the CAAC asked passengers to take off their shoes for security checks at domestic airports. CAAC said the new rule aims to detect potential knives, explosives and other banned items from being taken onto planes.

From May 1, all economy and business-class air passengers were limited to one carry-on bag, with strict size and weight restrictions. The single item of luggage should be no larger than 20x40x55 centimeters in size and no heavier than five kilograms, the CAAC said on its Website.

If the luggage is larger or heavier than the standard regulation, passengers must check in the bags.

(Shanghai Daily July 1, 2008)