By Rachel Young    Photo：CANVA

As competition in the international air freight market intensifies, foreign trade enterprises are putting forward increasingly stringent requirements for logistics timeliness, cost control and service stability. As an innovative air logistics model, the air pre-positioned cargo terminal breaks the cumbersome procedures of traditional air freight, emerging as a key driver for cost reduction and quality improvement in the industry.

Today, we will walk you through the core value, operational procedures and development trends of the air pre-positioned cargo terminal, helping you easily grasp practical insights.
 

I. What is an Air Pre-positioned Cargo Terminal?

In accordance with the Guidelines for the Development of Air Pre-positioned Cargo Terminals issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, an air pre-positioned cargo terminal can be simply defined as a cargo facility that operates outside the core operational zones of airports, is run by professional agencies, undertakes air cargo acceptance, and provides value-added services such as security screening and customs declaration as required. It can be regarded as a satellite terminal of the airport’s cargo terminal, with its core principle centered on "front-loaded security screening, front-loaded inspection and front-loaded services", enabling enterprises to "handle air freight procedures right at their doorstep".
 

II. Core Advantages of Pre-positioned Cargo Terminals (vs. Traditional Air Freight)

• Faster Timeliness: The model realizes "one-time inspection, mutual recognition across locations", cutting the overall logistics cycle by 12 to 24 hours and eliminating the need for repeated trips to the airport.
• Lower Costs: Ground transportation costs are reduced by 10% to 30%. Hidden costs arising from secondary security checks and off-site waiting are eliminated, slashing comprehensive costs by more than 20%.
• Simpler Procedures: One-stop services are provided to cover all processes including cargo tallying and documentation preparation. There is no need to coordinate with multiple agencies, thereby reducing labor input.
• Win-win Collaboration: It effectively eases the congestion pressure on airports during peak seasons, delivering a win-win outcome for enterprises, airports and operators.
   

For enterprises, the core value of pre-positioned cargo terminals lies in cost reduction, efficiency stabilization, hassle minimization and risk control. It optimizes overall costs and boosts operational efficiency; enables flexible adjustment of shipping plans to respond to emergencies, building a more robust supply chain.
 

III. Basic Operational Procedures of Air Pre-positioned Cargo Terminals

1. Cargo Receipt Confirmation: Customers deliver goods to the terminal or book door-to-door pickup services, and the staff verifies and registers the consignment details.
2. Cargo Tallying & Documentation: Cargo is sorted and labeled in compliance with civil aviation standards; relevant information is entered into the system and flight space is secured in coordination with airlines.
3. Security Screening & Customs Inspection: Professional airport personnel are stationed on-site for security screening, and customs officers conduct front-loaded inspections, with any anomalies addressed immediately on-site.
4. Unit Load Device (ULD) Assembly & Sealing: Qualified cargo is properly consolidated into ULDs, sealed with smart locks, and transportation data is uploaded in real time.
5. Closed-loop Transportation: Specialized vehicles transport the cargo directly to the airport for expedited customs clearance and loading, with the entire process fully trackable.
    

IV. Current Domestic Development Status

Since the Civil Aviation Administration issued relevant guidelines in 2024, domestic air pre-positioned cargo terminals have stepped into a phase of standardized and rapid development. They are primarily concentrated in cargo-intensive regions such as the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, with a number of benchmark projects taking shape:

• The Shanghai Airport-Suzhou Air Pre-positioned Cargo Terminal is the nation’s first cross-provincial and cross-customs zone terminal.
• The Shanghai Songjiang Air Pre-positioned Cargo Terminal has increased customs clearance efficiency by over 30%.
• The Chongqing Xiyong Air Pre-positioned Cargo Terminal is the first comprehensive terminal in western China.
• China Southern Airlines’ "dual-front-loading" cargo terminals have refined cross-border logistics channels in the Greater Bay Area.

Nevertheless, the layout of such terminals remains inadequate in central and western China.
 

V. How to Select and Utilize an Air Pre-positioned Cargo Terminal

• Prioritize mature terminals in cargo hubs. Avoid remote or pilot-phase terminals to ensure timeliness and seamless process coordination.
• Match terminal services to cargo types. For special commodities such as biomedicines, temperature-controlled goods and precision instruments, confirm with the terminal in advance whether it is equipped with supporting capabilities including dedicated temperature-controlled warehousing and dust-free inspection facilities, and clarify operational standards to prevent cargo damage.
• Confirm document requirements with the terminal in advance. For foreign trade cargo, documents including customs declarations, packing lists and commercial invoices must be completed in strict compliance with the terminal’s specifications, with consistent information across all paperwork. This prevents inspection delays caused by document discrepancies or errors, thus saving rectification time.
• Lock in flight space in advance during peak seasons (e.g., holidays, cross-border e-commerce shopping festivals). Leverage the cargo diversion advantage of pre-positioned terminals to avoid airport congestion. Meanwhile, reserve a buffer period to address unexpected flight adjustments and policy changes, preventing shipment delays due to space shortages.
• Prioritize terminals with multi-airline connections and full-process visual tracking capabilities to enhance supply chain controllability.
   

In the future, air pre-positioned cargo terminals will evolve towards networking, intelligence, diversification and collaboration: their coverage will expand to central and western China to achieve nationwide deployment; technologies such as AI and GPS will be integrated to upgrade operational intelligence; value-added services including bonded warehousing and supply chain design will be added; and multi-stakeholder collaboration will be strengthened to promote the integration of multimodal transport, facilitating the high-quality development of air logistics.
 

Air pre-positioned cargo terminals are reconstructing the traditional air freight model, precisely meeting the cost-reduction and efficiency-enhancement demands of foreign trade enterprises, and serving as a vital enabler for expanding global markets. With the improvement of network layout and service quality, they will continue to reshape the new ecology of air logistics and inject fresh momentum into cross-border trade.

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