Civil Aviation Administration of China makes efforts to speed up take-off for planes.

BEIJING,Aug 17 (Xinhuanet) – As China eases the brakes on the speed of its bullet trains, the country's Civil Aviation Administration is making efforts to speed up take-off for planes on domestic routes. Delays are often a source of frustration for many passengers, but as Zhang Ni reports, that could be about to change.

Fights delayed for more than two hours should have priority in taking off within 30 minutes after plane hatch closed. A newspaper in Beijing published this statement from an official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Monday, generating plenty of public interest.

However, CAAC immediately distanced itself from the statement. They refused our request for an interview and denied making such a promise. They confirmed that the "30-minute timeframe" was a goal for the future. CAAC also clarified that the take off time printed on plane tickets is actually the closing hatch time. If the hatch is closed on time, airliners are not responsible for the delay.

The issue has become one of the hottest disputes between passengers and airliners. But according to airline insiders, taking off within 30 minutes after the hatch closes is almost impossible.

Inisider of Chinese Airline Company, said, "Our company's statistics show that the main cause of delay in air traffic control, represents 65 to 70 percent of all delays. Airspace is like a highway, traffic jams are unavoidable if there is too much congestion. For a busy airport, one single problem can cause a numerous delays. It takes time to recover."

The growth of domestic flights in China has increased more than 10 percent annually since 2003. But limited airspace has restricted the expansion of flights. Further contributing to delays is extreme weather, with typhoon Muifa in east China serving as a recent example.

CAAC may not have promised to shorten delay times, but it is working on an online information desk to publish delay information and provide better service to delayed passengers. This statement is not yet put into effect, and how well it will work is still unknown. In a country where the military controls most of the airspace, how to manage effectively civil air traffic is not a one-day task.

Source:   http://news.xinhuanet.com