CAAC held its monthly press briefing on November 13. Heads of departments and bureaus of CAAC introduced on operation safety in October, airworthiness certification over the past 30 years, flight schedule for the new season, and the Tentative Measures for Credit Management of Civil Aviation Industry. They also answered questions from the media.
Transport Safety Remains Steady, Flight Regularity Rate Reaches 83.29% in October
Safety is of utmost significance of all work related to civil aviation. According to the person in charge of CAAC’s Office of Aviation Safety, in October, civil aviation safety performance remained steady and transport flights reached 918,000 hours with a year-on-year growth of 11.3%; general aviation flights amounted to 68,000 hours, with a year-on-year decline of 4.1%. So far this year, the civil aviation industry has accomplished 8.78 million hours of transport flights, and 661,000 hours of general aviation flights, increasing by 11.4% and 2% respectively compared to last year.
Meanwhile, civil aviation industry continues to develop rapidly and steadily. According to the person in charge of CAAC’s Department of Development Planning, in October, the total air transport turnover was 9.58 billion ton-km, passengers carried, 48.832 million persons, and cargo & mail carried, 620,000 tons. The passenger transport of international routes rose sharply with a year-on-year growth of 13%, making October the month of the highest transport amount this year.
As the industry keeps expanding, CAAC has improved both the flight support capabilities and operation efficiency by means of properly understanding operation standards, continuously improving support capabilities, and constantly enhancing technical support, etc., and made a breakthrough in flight regularity. In October, there were 448,572 flights in total, and the daily average increased by 10.42 compared to last year. The flight regularity rate reached 83.29%, with a year-on-year growth of 2.39%. The person in charge of CAAC’s Operation Supervisory Center indicated that they will continue to pay attention to the influence of meteorological conditions on flights, appropriately arrange the number of flights in affected areas and airports, and do a good job in flight operation support.
Optimization of Flight Structure as the Priority of New Season
At present, it is the winter season for the civil aviation industry. Flight schedule restructuring has been accomplished. The person in charge of CAAC’s Department of Transport said that in this season there are 50 domestic airlines, 13 airlines from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and 143 foreign airlines. Different from previous seasons, under the situation of limited civil aviation resources, CAAC has adopted lean management, controlled the total operation capacity, optimized the structure of flight schedule, and made appropriate adjustment to the number of flights at high-density airports and congested points.
Seeking Mutual Recognition and Promoting Domestic Aviation Products to Enter Foreign Market
Airworthiness certification demonstrates the safety performance of civil aircraft and also the qualification of entering the aviation market. On November 10, airliner C919 was transferred to Yanliang, Shaanxi Province, and its subsequent test flight for airworthiness certification will be conducted in a comprehensive way.
The person in charge of CAAC’s Department of Aircraft Airworthiness Certification said that the airworthiness certification of aircraft is a complicated process. First, test flight during the production stage is carried out to demonstrate compliance, and CAAC conducts type testing to verify whether the application of C919 comply with requirements of type design. Once the requirements are satisfied, CAAC will issue the authorization, officially start the test flight and conduct subsequent airworthiness certification. As to the problems such as lack of experience in airworthiness certification and system project management and a shortage of human resources, CAAC will try its best and provide sufficient support for Comac’s subsequent efforts in R&D and test flight for airliner C9191.
The Implementation Procedures for Airworthiness officially signed by CAAC and FAA helps pave the way for C919 and future made-in-China airliners to enter the American market. The person in charge of CAAC’s Department of Aircraft Airworthiness Certification said that the Implementation Procedures for Airworthiness has realized comprehensive mutual recognition of Chinese and American aviation products and created a good environment for exchanges of civil aviation products and cooperation between industry sectors of the two countries. It not only demonstrates the economic and industrial strength of China, but also shows the significance of Chinese aviation in global market. The person in charge also disclosed that China-EU bilateral negotiation on airworthiness is in progress, and CAAC will actively enhance cooperation with its EU counterpart, promote China-EU mutual recognition of airworthiness, and promote domestic airliners to the global market.
CAAC.GOV.CN / EN
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