China GA Report EN

FACTORS IMPACTING
GA MARKET
GENERAL AVIATION IN CHINA
The heavily-controlled and highly-regulated GA industry in
China is now entering a new phase. it hopes to grow the
market, incite economic growth, and keep up with more
developed nations. With the government’s acceptance and
understanding toward the industry comes the loosening of
restrictions and proactive initiatives, working toward promoting
general aviation in China.
In 2016, the Chinese Government unveiled the 13th Five-
Year Plan (2016-2020), which includes the country’s major
objectives for economic and social development. A key focus
is on the country’s infrastructure, as well as a strong emphasis
on aviation development. Consisting of six major points, the
plan targets safety, economic contribution, service level, an
efficient airport network, the promotion of general aviation and
green development.
Part of this development is the opening of airspace below
3,000m, up from 1,000m, as well as simplifying and reducing
the application time; a move beneficial to most general
aviation aircraft.
General aviation aircraft are typically defined as non-military
and non-commercial aircraft (including those transporting
cargo and scheduled flights carrying passengers.) Within
China, general aviation segments include industrial operations,
agriculture, flight training, medical evacuation (medevac),
natural disaster operations, business aviation, short-distance
transport, private flying and tourism.
To fully understand the status of China’s GA industry, a
comparison to the developed US market is appropriate. The US
is home to approximately 2,564 GA airports by FAA standards;
in contrary, China only has 74 CAAC approved airports. The
number of GA airports serves as an indicator of the industry’s
infrastructure development. Infrastructure and aircraft number
are highly correlated, in the way that advanced infrastructure
attracts acquisition of aircraft.
There are more than 200,000 GA aircraft in the US, whereas,
China has around 2,770.
In terms of total flying hours, the US has around 24 million total
GA flying hours, which is triple that of China’s; an indicator that
usage and support facilities are much more common in the US.
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecasts the
number of air travelers to double from 3.8 billion in 2016 to 7.2
billion passengers in 2035, with the Asia-Pacific region confirmed
as the biggest driver of demand and China replacing the US as
the world’s largest commercial aviation market around 2024.
At the end of 2016, China was home to 218 commercial service
airports. Beijing Capital International Airport is the largest airport
in China, serving approximately 94.4M passengers in 2016
— surpassing the airport’s annual passenger traffic capacity.
Shanghai Pudong Airport and Guangzhou Baiyun International
Airport follow, both of which also exceed passenger traffic
capacity.
To serve this rapidly-expanding fleet is no easy feat, requiring
help from all angles. The government and private companies
are particularly interested in Beijing. Beijing Daxing International
Airport is in the building stages and set to cater to increasing
traffic in the area. Expected to serve Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei,
the airport — to be completed in 2019 — will free up capacity at
current airports and provide considerable support to the industry.
Currently, there are approximately 311 general aviation airports in
China and about 558 airports in the planning stages, exceeding
the State Council’s plans for 500 general aviation airports. The
decision to build airports is now being moved from the Central
Government to that of the Provincial Governments.
General aviation airports in provinces across the country are
expected to be finished in the next few years. The new airports
10 | CHINA GA REPORT 2017