Since terrorism has been identified as the biggest threat to the Olympics, China has taken pre-emptive measures to counter any such challenges. China has decided to clamp a ban on air-freighting of dangerous goods to six cities starting from July 1, and the same will be stretched up to September 30, an official communiqué of the Civil Aviation Administration of China said in its official website. All airlines will be prohibited from carrying explosives for civil use, guns or ammunition to the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang, Qinhuangdao and Qingdao for a period of three months.
The measures are close on heels with last month’s series of week-long nationwide anti-terrorist drills, including operations to handle any chemical attack and hijacking of athletes vehicles, as preparedness to ward off any potential threats during the Olympics. Since May 1, the CAA has already implemented a slew of measures including banning lighters and matches from carry-on luggage of passengers and crew of international flights. Besides, to ensure aviation safety, they have limited the number of cabin baggage articles, and the passengers have to remove their footwear for security checks.
While the ban is in effect, flights carrying hazardous chemicals, such as poisonous gases and radioactive substances to other cities should undergo inspection and get them authorized by the CAA. The statement also informed even emergency items of the state or disaster relief materials must go through the same process to avoid the channel being misused. It should be remembered that China was recently devastated by an earthquake which killed more than 70,000. Even the scrutiny of disaster relief materials in air-freighting indicate that China would not be soft on the security of the Olympic which will be held in the country between August 8 and 24 of this year.