China has drafted a long-term plan for development of air cargo, which will require the building of 97 new airports, consolidation of smaller airports and upgrading of certain key airports by the year 2020. The entire project will cost the government a massive investment of $64 billion.

According to the new Ministry of Transport, under the plan, 97 feeder-line airports will be built across the country, the main air hubs will be upgraded, and airport clusters will be set up in the northern, eastern, central, southern, southwestern and northwestern parts of the country.

The ministry, which was formed on March 24, encompasses all the state entities related to road, sea and air traffic.

It evolved from the former Ministry of Communications and the General Administration of the Civil Aviation of China.

By the end of 2006, the Chinese mainland had 147 airports with 45 of them serving both military and civilian traffic.

The program calls for the forming of airport clusters according to their function — international, domestic or feeder airports — and integration of large, small and medium-sized airports. The illustrations are Shanghai Hongqiao at the top and Hangzhou seen from the air.
Source: China Daily

China’s self-developed commuter aircraft, the Modern Ark 60 (MA60), has received new purchasing or leasing orders of 20 aircraft to make its total orders to 116.

The China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC1) said its subsidiary, Xi’an Aircraft Industry, has signed contracts with Yunnan Ying’an Airlines and AVIC1 Leasing Company for the purchase and leasing of the 20 MA60 twin turbo-prop commuters.

Of the 20 planes, ten are purchasing and leasing contracts while the other half are orders of intent. The first ten planes will start to be delivered in May 2008.

MA60 is the most successful civil aviation aircraft developed by China so far. It has a maximum take-off weight of 21,800 kg and a seating capacity of up to 60 passengers.

The XAC said the plane’s reliability, comfort, economy and maintainability reach the standards of similar advanced commuter aircraft in the world.
Source: China View

China plans to build 97 new airports by 2020. China’s General Administration of Civil Aviation said the $89 billion undertaking over the next 12 years will bring the total number of civilian airports in China to 244, up from 147 in 2006.

The new airports will be built in five main regions of the country — north, east, south-central, south-western and north-western.

When the expansion is complete, it would mean that 82 percent of China’s population — expected to hit 1.45 billion people by 2020 — would be living within 100km — or a 90-minute drive — of an airport.

Currently, about 60% of the popularion lives with this range.
China’s air passenger volume rose by 15.3% to 51.9 million in the third quarter of 2007, and air freight volume increased by 11.5% to 1.05 million tons.
Source: CargoNews Asia and
Bloomberg

The world’s second highest airport will open in China in about six months time. Possibly to give intending passengers time to train and get acclimatized.

The airport is in Kangding, a Tibetan highland region of Sichuan province in southwest China at a remarkable altitude of 14,042 feet, and will allow tourists to visit one of the most scenic regions of China. The illustration is of the current road at the same height as the air strip will be.

Flights will begin May 1 and cut travel time from the current five to seven hours by road to about 35 minutes in the air.

The Kangding airport is only surpassed in altitude by the Chamdo Bamda airport in Tibet, which is at 14,219 feet. At both airports, jetliners need extra long runways to take off in the thin air.

The airport was designed to handle 330,000 passengers and 1,980 tons of cargo and mail annually and will start operating in May next year.
Source: China View

The civil aviation regulator said it will soon launch policies to subsidize largely loss-making small and medium-sized airports as well as short-hop air services.

Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) said in a statement on its website that subsidies for airports will be provided mainly to those with annual passenger traffic of less than 5 million people, and those located in remote, underdeveloped regions.

More than 80% of the country’s airports are eligible for the subsidies, with subsidy levels dependent on each airport’s size and location.

Short-hop air routes with passenger load factors lower than 80 per centwill also be subsidized. It did not provide a timetable for the new rules.

The civil aviation regulator added that the state council, China’s cabinet, has approved its proposal to continue an airport construction levy until 2010. Passengers are currently levied RMB50 as airport construction fees for each domestic flight, RMB10 for domestic regional routes and RMB90 for international routes.

The illustration is of Xining airport, Tibet. That is a small airport by any definition.