On January 17, CAAC held its first routine press briefing in 2018. Chiefs from relevant departments and bureaus of CAAC released information on civil aviation operational safety in the last month, arrangements of air transport for the spring festival travel rush, regulations for domestic passenger transport service and domestic investment in civil aviation, and answered questions from the press. Journalists from over 20 news media such as Xinhua News Agency, the People’s Daily, and CCTV attended the press briefing.

Civil Aviation Operation Maintained Safe and Steady throughout 2017

In December 2017, civil aviation operation maintained safe and air transport kept growing rapidly. As for flight, the civil aviation industry registered 918,000 flight hours for transport and 75,000 flight hours for general aviation operation with a year-on-year growth rate of 11.8% and 14.9% respectively. As for transport, the industry accomplished a total of 9.56 billion ton-km transport volume, and carried 46.656 million passengers and 661,000 tons of cargo, with a year-on-year growth rate of 13.0%, 15.4% and 1.4% respectively. The regularity rate of civil flights in December reached 88.33%, up by 8.41 percentage points compared to that in 2016.

In 2017, civil aviation operation maintained safe and steady throughout the year. The industry realized 10.597 million flight hours for transport and 808,000 flight hours for general aviation operation, 11.6% and 6.2% higher respectively over last year without any air transport accident. Up to date, civil aviation transport in China has realized safe flights for 88 consecutive months and 56.82 million hours, and maintained aviation security for 15 years in a roll. By the end of 2017, the civil aviation industry had a total of 5,588 aircraft, including 3,296 transport aircraft and 2,292 general aviation aircraft. In the whole country, there were 229 certified transport airports, 11 newly built airports and 32 airports with over 10 million passenger throughput. The flight regularity rate in 2017 was 71.67%.

Guarantee Support for Air Transport during the Spring Festival Travel Rush

The upcoming spring festival travel rush marks the first one after the 19th National CPC Congress. According to Mr. Liu Feng, Director General of CAAC’s Department of Transport, there is a huge demand for civil aviation transport for the spring festival this year. It is estimated that a total of 65 million passengers will travel by air during the period, about 10% higher than the last year.

Mr. Tian Zhencai, Deputy Director of CAAC’s Operations Control Center, noted that to guarantee smooth operation of flights during the spring festival travel rush, CAAC has suggested airlines adopt large wide-body aircraft and add extra flights and charter flights for some popular routes. By January 16, domestic and foreign airlines had planned to offer nearly 12,500 extra and charter flights during the spring festival travel rush, including 10,300 extra flights by domestic airlines, 804 extra and charter flights by foreign airlines, 48 extra and charter flights by Hong Kong and Macao airlines, and 1,226 extra and charter flights between the two sides of Taiwan Strait. In the meantime, CAAC will enhance its aviation meteorological forecast service and release alert information in time; require airlines, airports and ATC entities to make every effort to guarantee safety by detecting safety hazards, rectifying identified problems, and reporting abnormal information in strict accordance with the time limits and procedures stipulated by CAAC. During the spring festival travel rush, CAAC will hold daily coordination video conferences, remain on duty around the clock, report operation information, and solve emerging operational problems without delay.

Revise the Provisions on the Administration of Domestic Transport Services for Civil Aviation Passengers

Recently, the Provisions on the Administration of Domestic Transport Services for Civil Aviation Passengers (draft for comment) has been widely soliciting comments. The Provisions is closely related to passengers’ rights and interests. Liu Feng said that the draft is a revision to the China Civil Aviation Domestic Transport Regulations for Passenger and Baggage issued in 1996, aiming to implement the requirements for offering sincere service and enhance passenger transport service management and protection of passengers’ rights and interests.

Further Encourage Investment in Civil Aviation Industry by Various Entities

The Provisions on Domestic Investment in Civil Aviation Industry will come into effect on January 19, 2018. Mr. Yan Mingchi, Director General of CAAC’s Department of Policy, Law and Regulation, stressed that the Provisions loosen up restrictions on state holding for Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines and allow the percentage of state-owned shares to be under 50%; relax requirements for the percentage of state-owned shares of major transport airports and allow the percentage to be under 50%; and further liberalize limitations on various investors in the industry. The Provisions adopt a negative list mode, which means there are no investment access limitations for various domestic entities to invest in fields and projects other than public air transport, civil transport airports, ATC system, and sales, storage, transport and refueling of aviation fuel which are stipulated in the regulation.

Yan Mingchi also noted that during the period of the 13th Five-Year Plan, investment in civil airport construction will continue to stay at a high level. In 2017, a total of 82.5 billion Yuan was invested in infrastructure and fixed assets. The newly implemented Provisions will facilitate domestic investors to invest in transport airports, general aviation industry and general airports.