China revises the regulation on the transport of dangerous goods by air

On February 4, 2024, the Ministry of Transport of China promulgated the revised “Regulation on the transport of dangerous goods by air”. The revised Regulation will take effect from July 1, 2024. The Regulation stipulates the restrictions, approvals, management of transportation manuals, responsibilities of shippers and carriers, transmission of transportation information, management of related training, supervision and legal responsibilities of the parties, etc. for the transportation of dangerous goods by civil aviation. Compared with the current Regulation promulgated in April 2016, the contents of the regulations have been significantly revised, and the fines for illegal activities have also been significantly increased.

The Chinese Ministry of Transport (MOT) made public the revised Regulation on Administration of Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air. The revised Regulation slashes licensing requirements by further reducing materials required in the application for the license of transport of dangerous goods and simplifies the categories of licensing for airlines from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and foreign countries, aiming at differentiated and precise supervision. It prompts enterprises to assume the primary responsibility for the transport safety of dangerous goods. For example, it fleshes out the requirements concerning the handling of dangerous goods for shippers and shipper’s agents, ground service agents, airlines as well as relevant training agencies.

Another key focus is enhancing the emergency response capabilities of stakeholders. As per the revised Regulation, shippers and shipper’s agents must provide accurate emergency response measures when shipping dangerous goods. Airlines and ground service agents should incorporate contingency plans and exercise requirements for emergencies related to the transportation of dangerous goods into their transport handbooks. Furthermore, airport authorities are responsible for developing and overseeing contingency plans for the transportation of dangerous goods within airports. 

As the Safety Management System (SMS) is steadily advancing within the aviation industry, new management philosophies and ideas are incorporated into the revised Regulation. Airlines and ground service agents will be required to establish and operate the SMS for air transport of dangerous goods. 

In terms of the clauses regarding legal liability, distinctions have been made for corporate violations based on the severity of the actions. Different administrative processing requirements have been established, which can both prevent minor violations from entering the administrative penalty procedure and effectively limit the discretion of administrative penalties, achieving the standardization of punishment criteria.