China to open low-altitude airspace in 2015: report

(ECNS) -- China is expected to allow private planes to enter low-altitude airspace below 1,000 meters in 2015, without military approval, reports said.

The country will deepen its reform of airspace management to boost the aviation industry after a meeting in Beijing attended by Vice-Premier Ma Kai and military authorities on Saturday, the PLA Daily said.

A trail that rolls back restrictions on low-altitude airspace use for general aviation flights is underway across 10 cities, including Hainan, Changchun, Guangzhou, Tangshan, Xi'an, Qingdao, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Kunming and Chongqing, reporters at learned. This trail will be expanding nationwide in the next year.

An aviation law has been included in the legislative agenda and might enter process next year, a report said.

It is expected that China's general aircraft will surpass 5,000 by 2020, with an annual growth rate at around 19 percent, and that potential aviation market demand would reach 15.5 billion US dollars (95.18 billion yuan), representing a new economic engine, according to Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

Wang Zhiqing, deputy director at CAAC, suggested freeing up an altitude of 3,000 meters during the meeting, the Beijing Times said.

Bottlenecks facing the aviation industry not only include resources, but also a lack of general airports, temporary landing sites, fuel supplies and pilots, Wang said.

China will need to train about half a million civilian pilots by 2035, up from just a few thousand at present.

The State Council and military authorities jointly decided to open up the country's low-altitude airspace to general aviation in November 2010.