BEIJING — Chinese customs have rolled out contingency plans targeting potential COVID-19 infections among international air freight crews, as part of its efforts to smooth the global supply chain on the basis of epidemic containment.

Aviation companies, industry regulators and local governments must implement strict measures to prevent imported cases, Song Yueqian, an official with the General Administration of Customs (GAC), told a press conference on April 20.

Flight crews of Chinese airlines are required to be quarantined at designated places after the nucleic acid test (NAT) if they have entered foreign countries, said Song.

Cargo flights of Chinese airlines, whose crew have stayed on flights with enough protective gear at overseas airports, could continue to handle cargo shipments if the customs report no abnormality after strict health and quarantine measures when they return to China.

For international cargo flights to continue services on domestic routes, the crew can proceed with their work with negative NAT results, he said.

Starting from April 1, the GAC started to carry out NATs on each inbound traveler, while providing inspection equipment and anti-epidemic supplies to key entry customs to curb cross-border virus spread.