The Xiamen airport is full of parked airplanes. [Photo/Xiamen Daily]
Flight MF831, carrying 161 passengers, departed from Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport on Oct 8, bound for Doha, capital of Qatar. This marks the 10,000th round trip flight between Xiamen airport and Belt and Road countries this year.
"Malaysia is home to many people from Fujian. Every year, we travel back to our homeland together. Xiamen offers a wide range of flights, fast customs clearance, and high efficiency," said Ms Zhang, a passenger returning from Penang, Malaysia.
To date, Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport has opened 13 direct passenger routes to and from 10 Belt and Road countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. There are also three direct cargo routes to and from these countries.
In the first three quarters, Xiamen airport operated 9,806 flights to and from Belt and Road countries, with a total of 1.51 million passengers, representing year-on-year increases of 73.91 percent and 83.5 percent respectively.
Xiamen Customs has utilized advanced equipment such as early-stage machine inspection and intelligent image review by CT machines to enhance customs supervision efficiency during peak hours and clearance efficiency for inbound and outbound passengers.
As more Fujian goods are shipped via the Belt and Road countries' cargo routes, Xiamen Customs has implemented a "round-the-clock clearance" model.
Authorities are also exploring smart and electronic supervision of the entire chain of goods entering and leaving Belt and Road countries to reduce clearance costs and increase efficiency.
For more details on China's visa-free policies and other services, please visit the 12367 service platform or the State Council app.
Outbound travelers will be able to explore downtown duty-free shopping in more Chinese cities and more easily access consumer goods of fashionable Chinese brands, an official statement said on Aug 27.
