China airline traffic soars 16% in 2007

The booming sector was growing too fast, raising safety risks, and needs to be brought under control, the China Daily newspaper quoted state aviation chief Li Jiaxiang as saying.

The risks looked set to rise, with volume projected to surge another 14 percent in 2008 to 210 million passengers, the paper said, citing figures from the General Administration of Civil Aviation.

“The structure is outstandingly imbalanced, safety risks continue to rise and economic returns remain low,” the China Business News quoted Li as telling an industry conference on Thursday.

The curbs will include “tighter restrictions on new airlines entering the market” and controls on the numbers of aircraft that airlines can purchase, the China Daily quoted him saying.

It cited official figures saying that, despite the growth, there had been no major aviation accidents in China for 37 months, a record for the industry.

Under the new measures aimed at maintaining that record, airlines that have difficulty supplying required numbers of cockpit crew would not be allowed to import new aircraft or open new routes, Li said.

The government alsoplaced a ban on new airline applications until 2010 and would more closely scrutinise investors, plane ownership and pilot quality, he said.

Li, named head of the aviation authority last month, is widely known to oppose foreign airlines gaining greater access to China’s skies.

He said domestic airlines also would be encouraged to open more long-distance international routes to raise their overseas market share, the China Daily said.

Growth in Chinese air travel has been driven by surging personal incomes amid a three-decade economic expansion.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos Respond to this email