According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), 93 new general aviation airports were licensed in the first half of 2018, more than doubling the number of general aviation airports in the country. China now has 231 civil airports in a total of 404 airports which support the take-off and landing of general aviation aircraft.
118 new general aviation aircraft were registered the CAAC in the first half of the year, bringing the country’s total to 2,415 with a 9.5-percent year-on-year increase.
According to an announcement from the CAAC, China has also recently signed bilateral intergovernmental air transport accords with 125 countries and regions, 62 of which lie along the Belt and Road, a 21st century silk road, made up of a “belt” of overland corridors and a maritime “road” of shipping lanes that will connect China with South-east Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa.
China has also signed the first regional air transport agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and held bilateral aviation conferences and expanded freedoms of the air with Russia, Armenia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Israel, Mongolia, Malaysia and Egypt and other countries straddling the route, these rights allowing commercial aircraft to enter and land in each other country’s airspace.
Currently, China has direct air routes with 45 countries alongside the Belt and Road, operating roughly 5,100 flights per week. CAAC has also signed documents with the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, New Zealand and Australia to secure civil aviation cooperation.
