BEIJING, Nov. 22 (Xinhua)
-- More efforts should be made to promote the "fast and healthy" growth
of China's general aviation industry and make it contribute more to the
economic and social development as well as national defense, Chinese
Vice Premier Ma Kai said Saturday.
Ma made the remarks at an
industry meeting on low-altitude airspace management reform, saying this
reform has entered a "crucial stage and many problems remain to be
solved."
The reform should aim at promoting the development of
general aviation sector and meeting people's needs, and focus on
building a safe, efficient and convenient low-altitude airspace
management mode and supporting system, he added.
China has a
total number of 226 general aviation companies and 1,786 general
aircraft including helicopters, according to the Civil Aviation
Administration of China (CAAC).
It is expected that China's
general aircraft will surpass 5,000 by 2020, with an annual growth rate
at around 19 percent, representing a new economic engine and an industry
with potential market demand at 15.5 billion U.S. dollars, said CAAC
deputy director Wang Zhiqing.
General aviation refers to all
civil aviation operations other than scheduled air services, and general
aircraft range from helicopters to private jets.
General
aircraft can fly in the low-altitude airspace below 1,000 meters in
China and policymakers are mulling over lifting that altitude.
"The
bottlenecks facing the general aviation industry are not only airspace
resources, but also a lack of general aviation airports, temporary
landing sites, fuel supply and pilots," Wang said.
China has only
65 general aviation airports, about 300 temporary landing sites and
only one oil refiner producing general aviation fuel, CAAC figures
showed.
- Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com
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