YTO vows to improve inspections

YTO Express, one of China's largest express delivery companies, plans to improve how it inspects packages now that it has lost its qualification to deliver cargo on commercial airlines, a company executive said Sunday.

The company lost its right to put its cargo on passenger aircraft after police found lithium batteries contained among its packages on a China Southern Airlines flight to Dalian, Liaoning Province, on October 22, according to a report in the Shanghai Evening Post.

Government regulations prohibit delivery companies from shipping batteries and other combustible or explosive goods on commercial flights for safety reasons.

Staff members failed to find the prohibited batteries because they didn't have time to open and inspect every package that was going on board the flight, said Yang Xinwei, a vice president with the company.

The problem is not uncommon in the industry, said Chen Linhua, a representative of the Shanghai Express Trade Association.

"The express delivery industry is developing very fast, but there are a lot of problems. Cargo inspection remains one of the major concerns," Chen told the Global Times.

Yang said that the company will provide additional training to employees and outfit 30 percent of its 1,400 offices with X-ray machines to inspect packages.

YTO Express held 17.2 percent of the national express delivery market in 2011, according to a manager surnamed Zhou with the company's public relations department.

Although packages delivered by air account for 12.5 percent of the company's deliveries, the loss of its rights to the airlines will have a limited effect on its business, Yang said. The company will entrust other express delivery companies to send its cargo on the airlines.

Yang said the change will raise the company's costs, but won't affect the efficiency of its service. It plans to reapply for the qualification in two or three months.

However, an official surnamed Hou with the China Air Transport Association said it will take YTO Express at least a year to regain the qualification.