In order to ensure operational safety and improve flight regularity in an all-round way, CAAC issued the Several Policy Measures on Controlling Operation Capacity and Adjusting Flight Mix to Improve Regularity of Flights (the Measures), which plans to implement control on the operation capacity and adjustment to the mix of flights starting from this IATA winter season.

Currently, civil aviation flights are operating at peak capacity, resulting in fully loaded operation of the support system, accumulation of operation safety risks, and worst performance of flight regularity. Meanwhile, the transport fleet is expanding, the available airspace resources are limited and the contradiction between the ever increasing transport demand and the comprehensive support capabilities becomes acute. Given such a backdrop, CAAC seized the current situation and took resolute decisions in issuing the Measures.

The Measures made unequivocal requirements on a strict control of the standards in terms of capacity of flight slot coordinating airports. The capacity standards for 21 flight slot coordinating airports in the winter season of 2017 will remain unchanged, which will be followed strictly in the coordination and allocation of flight slots. From the winter season of 2017, the non-coordinating periods at the principal coordinating airports will be canceled and the 24 hour coordination management of the flight slots will be implemented with priority on the management of overall capacity of flight slots. The increase and adjustment to the overall capacity of flight slots at slot coordinating airports will undergo scientific assessment, of which the indicators including workload of controllers and acceptable delay level must be in line with the standards.

The Measures also identified the basic conditions that shall be met in the adjustment and addition of airport capacities: first, no severe unsafe events occurred due to the reasons of airport or ATC; second, the regularity rates of flight clearance at airports for 9 months within the past year shall not be lower than 80%. Where the regularity rates of flight clearance at airports for 9 months within the past year are lower than 70% or obvious decrease in airport support capabilities caused by non-stop engineering at the terminals or the destroy of airport obstacle clearance etc., the airport capacity will be adjusted or decreased.

The Measures also gave explanations to the confirmation means of adjustment to list of auxiliary coordinating airports of flight slots. For those airports with an annual passenger traffic of over 10 million that were not incorporated in the principal coordinating airports list, if there are overlaps in the airspace use and operations closely connected with the principal coordinating airports, they will be included into the list of auxiliary coordinating airports of flight slots. The time period between 06:00 to 10:00 am and other necessary time periods of the auxiliary coordinating airports will be identified as coordinating periods, and the coordinated slot allocation will be implemented during the coordinating periods.

The Measures made it clear that CAAC will study and determine the key indicators and evaluation methods for the airspace capacity evaluation, and carry out airspace capacity evaluation and manage the airspace capacity and airport capacity in a balanced way.