2021 China General Aviation Report

INFRASTRUCTURE OVERVIEW
Amongst certified GA airports, there are 126 Type-A and 220 Type
B airports as of June 2021. There are some differences between
the two; Type A airports are allowed to be open to the public and
run commercial flight activities, whilst Type B airports are not
allowed to, and can only be used for general aviation activities.
Moreover, certified GA airports can be categorized into runway
airports (constituting 59%), heliports (41%), and water aerodrome
(less than 1%). Amongst the runway airports, 37 of them can
be used as heliports. Aside from the Shanghai Jinshan Water
Aerodrome which was certified in 2019, there are three other GA
airports with the facilities to provide water aerodrome services.
Runway airports can be divided by the length of the runway.
The airports with runway lengths between 400 and 800 meters
account for 62% of the market share. As small-sized fixed-wing
aircraft usually need a runway length between 600 and 800 meters,
this means that a runway with a length of 800 meters is enough
for the majority of the general aviation aircraft. On the other hand,
business jets need longer runways than other aircraft types, with
most needing a runway length from 1600 to 2000 meters for
take-off and landing. Overall, there are only 13 GA airports with a
runway length above 1600 meters.
Amongst the 157 surface-level heliports, 115 are certified. There
are 26 certified elevated heliports and 147 uncertified helipads.
Compared with a helipad, a heliport is usually equipped with more
secure operational facilities.
RUNWAY AIRPORT BY RUNWAY LENGTH
HELIPORTS AND HELIPADS BY CATEGORY
>1600m 13 (6%)
>1200m,800m,