Passengers wait for their flight at the check-in area of Shanghai Pudong Airport's Terminal 1 on May 1, 2025. [Photo/IC]

Starting July 1, Shanghai Pudong International Airport will offer 24-hour customs, immigration, and security clearance for all departing international, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan flights.

All outbound processing facilities — including customs declaration counters, immigration checkpoints, security lanes, self-service check-in kiosks, and tax-refund counters — will operate around the clock.

This new service builds on the airport's earlier launch of 24-hour domestic departure security screening, which was piloted in Terminal 1 before the May Day holiday and expanded to Terminal 2 on May 11 following strong passenger feedback.

The domestic system, based on a "same-day flight, same-day screening" model, allows travelers to proceed through security at any time after check-in and baggage drop — offering greater flexibility for early-morning or late-night flights.

Summer surge drives route expansion

The launch of 24-hour border clearance comes as the peak summer travel season begins. From July 1 to Aug 31, Pudong and Hongqiao airports are expected to handle 150,000 flights, a 5 percent year-on-year increase, with total passenger traffic projected to hit 24.55 million — including 15.87 million at Pudong.

To meet rising demand, new routes are being added. Domestically, flights will be added to Kashgar, Yining, Hotan prefecture, and Kuqa in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region as well as Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia autonomous region. International services will launch to Almaty (Kazakhstan), Kumamoto (Japan), and Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia). Flights to Copenhagen (Denmark) will resume, while flights to London (the UK), Vladivostok (Russia), Hanoi (Vietnam), and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) will increase in frequency.

Sources: Official WeChat account of the General Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government at "shanghaifabu", eastday.com