China is to relax its general aviation requirements meaning the Chinese military will pass its control of civil airspace to the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC).
Effective 1 December, civil operations flown by home-based pilots will only need the approval of the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC), meaning consent will take just hours, rather than days.
Ed Bolen, CEO of the National Business Aviation Association, which supports the recent announcement, said: "This development is the latest in a series of encouraging signs that China is committed to the industry's growth." He believes the move will open up China's aviation industry.
"We hope to see further easing of flight restrictions on GA [general aviation] operations, as the government gains comfort with the industry and becomes more aware of its future growth potential."
Speaking at an industry conference on Tuesday, Tan Wangeng, CEO of China Southern explained that China's passenger volume rose nine per cent last year to 320 million. Yet, each Chinese citizen took just 0.22 flights on average; this compares with Europeans and Americans who took on average two to three. "There is an unimaginable potential for the Chinese market with a population of 1.3 billion," Wangeng said.
The decision represents a major change for China. However, some areas such as borders and military zones will continue to be controlled by the People's Liberation Army. It also came with another decision that seems to have taken China back a few steps.
On Saturday, the county also declared a new 'air defence identification zone', which includes islands in the East China Sea that already fall within Japan's remit.
China says aircraft flying through the airspace must identify themselves and obey China's rules or the military will view them as hostile.
Japan, Taiwan, South Korean, the Philippines and the US are strongly opposed to China's new air zone. Indeed, on Tuesday, the US sent two B-52 aircraft into the disputed airspace in what was widely considered a statement by the US that it does not recognise China's new rules.
In a press briefing on Wednesday, The Department of Foreign Affairs' spokesman, Raul Hernandez, said: "Its deployment does not contribute to regional stability... Instead, [it] serves to threaten the status quo."
