China Southern Airlines Signs MOU For APIS System; First Chinese Airline To Fully Comply With US Customs Requirements

China Southern Airlines (NYSE: ZNH) (HKSE: 1055), the largest airline in The People's Republic of China, has agreed to join the APIS (Advance Passenger Information System) and fully cooperate with the US Customs Service.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed today by Mr. Wang Changshun, President, China Southern Airlines.

"We have developed a system wherein we can gather specific passenger information and transmit it via e-mail to our LAX airport offices and from there to the appropriate US Customs offices …prior to the departure from China of our non-stop transpacific service from Guangzhou to Los Angeles," said Mr. Wang.

China Southern Airlines is the first Chinese airline to join the APIS program as currently outlined by the US Customs Department.

APIS is an automated system capable of performing database queries on air passengers prior to their arrival in the U.S. from foreign locations. U.S. Customs, in cooperation with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the airline industry, initiated development of APIS in 1988 to collect biographical information (name, date of birth, country of residence, etc.) from air passengers prior to departure for the U.S. from foreign locations. Air carriers participating in the program submit passenger data at the same time that the plane departs for the U.S.

Prior to a plane's arrival in the US, the APIS data is checked against the combined federal law enforcement database, known as the Interagency Border Inspection System (IBIS). IBIS includes the combined databases of U.S. Customs, INS, State Department, and 21 other federal agencies. Names are also checked against the FBI's National Crime Information Center wanted persons files.

China Southern Airlines is proud to feature the Boeing 777, the most state-of-the-art aircraft in the world. Each economy seat is equipped with an individual crystal PTV screen with stereo headsets. China Southern Airlines is the only airline in China to offer a wide selection of first-run films as part of its in-flight entertainment service, offering the latest Hollywood and Chinese feature films, Classic '50's movies, Discovery TV, BBC TV and V-TV.