Aviation industry awaits opportunities

The T-50 jets of Republic of Korea Air Force aerobatics team, the Black Eagles, perform a maneuver in the aerial display on the first day of the Singapore Air Show February 11, 2014. [Photo/icpress.cn]

Under new regulations announced late last year, general aviation flights, no longer have to apply for approvals in advance with certain exceptions such as entering or exiting China's territories, flying through restricted zones and conducting aerial photography or surveys of military facilities.

The relaxed regulations were issued by the General Staff Headquarters of the People's Liberation Army and the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

However, experts like Yang Guoqing, vice president of the Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics and former deputy administrator of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said that the reforms in low altitude airspace management still cannot catch up with expectations.

"By slower than expectations, I mean they still can not catch up with the expectations of the public. I am not saying that there has been no progress," Yang said at a forum on the sidelines of the airshow Wednesday.

He said that authorities and other players involved have been trying their best to push through the reforms.

The reforms involve various authorities and parties. The Civil Aviation Administration is not the main agency behind the reforms as airspace control primarily falls within the authority of the military.

"It takes time to move ahead with the reforms," Yang said.

Yang also identified general aviation as one of the still nascent industries with great potentials in outlining the strategic plans for China's aviation sector.

The strategic goal is for China to achieve an air transport passenger traffic of 1.5 billion per annum by 2030, which is set to make it the largest domestic air transport market in the world. By 2020, the annual turnover of the air transport system in China is expected to hit 140 billion ton kilometers. The population will on average make 0.47 trip per person per year, and there will be 260 airports, making air transport services available to 89 percent of the population.

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