In China., the lack of understanding about the economic value and job creation that comes from business and general aviation are some key reasons behind the scarcity of airport resources for business aviation. During China's economic boom, airline operations were the priority during the planning and construction of airports, resulting in a lack of business aviation parking, slots, limited operation times, and overall stretching of resources.

“That led to over-used facilities, delays, and increases in costs for business and general aviation,” said Frank De, CEO of Sino Jet, the third largest bizav operator in China.

De is optimistic about resolutions to some of the challenges to the industry, as the Chinese government and wider community come to understand the value of business aviation to the local economy.

“More and more data is being uncovered showing that, given the space to grow, business and general aviation can massively boost local economies, as has been seen in more mature markets,” he said. “It’s an on-going issue with no immediate solution; however, we are experiencing growth and demand in China and we are seeing signs of greater commitment and understanding on the part of the authorities to allow the industry to thrive.”

He is looking forward to the fruition of the government’s 13th Five-year plan announced last year, in which it outlines plans to build 500 more general aviation airports by 2020. The plan also calls for the increase of China “B” registered private aircraft from 2,800 to more than 5,000 within the same period.

“This is the trend which we are looking forward to and working hard as a collective group under associations such as AsBAA to make a reality. In the meantime, at existing airports we expect and look forward to expansion plans that include more landing field space, hardstands, and hangar space. Basically, we’re looking for short-term solutions that may help to relieve the pressure of limited landing field and hardstand capacity challenges," De added.

Asian Sky Group’s 2017 China GA Report revealed that the Jiangsu province would see 71 new GA airports, likely to support the Shanghai and Suzhou economy hubs, and in line with the Yangtze River Delta development announced in the Five-year plan. This is followed by Yunnan province with 51 airports. Sichuan, where more than 220 business jets are based, will have 24 airports built.

Interestingly, the government has less ambitious plans for the Pearl River Delta (Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, and Shenzhen), once the driving force for the Chinese economy. Twenty-one airports will be built in Guangdong province, and it is uncertain if it will ease the bottleneck for business traffic there.

The runway orientation of Hong Kong International Airport is perpendicular to Shenzhen and Macau’s north-south alignment, creating a rather inefficient air traffic operation in the delta. Future GA airports in Guangdong should take into account such considerations into account to prevent similar air traffic nightmares once all airports are ready. 

Regulatory Understanding

The government also implemented more than 60 GA policies over the last two years to ease and promote GA in the country, but De hopes that there is greater understanding from the authorities on some commercial airline regulations that apply to business aviation.

“There are issues such as the rules applied by the authorities when categorizing the noise levels of business jets. The metrics for this were designed to measure the commercial airlines, but business jets are very different, and therefore require a different approach," he said.

Currently there are also inherent policies that might cause inconvenience to foreign-registered aircraft. B-registered aircraft have more available airports and unlimited flight segments that include combined military and civilian airports, which forbid foreign jets. These private jets must also leave after six flight segments within China

De calls for greater cooperation within the industry and a stronger industry voice, like those with AsBAA. “Sino Jet will continue to support this kind of lobbying work which will help our business to grow but also create opportunity for others in the market space.“