International arrival area of Shenzhen Airport adopts 'pre-inspection' system

To welcome the APEC "China Year," Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport's international arrival area has launched a "pre-inspection" system to enhance the efficiency and experience of inbound customs clearance.

Zhang Ludan, chief of the ninth travel inspection section of Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport Customs, said "We have taken the lead in applying 'pre-inspection' at the international arrival area by integrating X-ray and CT baggage inspection equipment into the luggage sorting line. Before passengers collect their baggage, every piece of inbound checked luggage has already undergone non-intrusive screening."

In the past, after an international flight landed, passengers had to retrieve their luggage first, then carry their heavy bags and queue up for inspection.

Now, with the help of an intelligent image analysis system, customs can accurately identify high-risk baggage. The vast majority of unproblematic luggage is released directly, allowing passengers to skip both the inspection and the queue — they can simply grab their checked bags and leave. What used to take about 45 minutes for inbound customs clearance can now be completed in roughly 15 minutes.

Under the "pre-inspection" model, clearance time for passengers with no baggage anomalies is significantly reduced, eliminating the need to haul suitcases through inspection machines after retrieving them.

On the departure side, Shenzhen Bao'an Airport Customs has introduced "one-time inspection," which deeply integrates customs supervision equipment with security X-ray machines, breaking down the operational barriers between customs and security checkpoints.

Departing passengers no longer need to pass through two separate checkpoints — customs baggage inspection followed by security screening. Instead, they only need to place their luggage once and pass it through the machine once. The images are simultaneously transmitted to the customs remote image analysis center, where normal baggage is cleared directly, with no need for secondary handling or repeated unpacking.

In the first seven months of this year, the number of foreign nationals entering and leaving China via Shenzhen International Airport reached 1.1 million, covering 190 countries and regions — a year-on-year increase of 32% and a record high for the same period. Among them, foreign nationals from APEC member economies totaled 850,000, also up 32% year-on-year, accounting for nearly 80% of all foreign travelers — another record high. Travelers from South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Russia ranked at the top of the list.