New heights for private aircraft (3)

Favorable policies

The government is also helping boost the market through a series of favorable measures.

Li Jiaxiang, head of the Civil Aviation of China, said in early September that a number of airports specially designed for business craft are expected to be built around major cities including Beijing and Shanghai, according to the China Economic Weekly.

It is another move to fuel the market after civil aviation authorities issued a 15-article regulation in 2009 to speed up development of general aviation in China. Among other things, they cut the time required for approval of private flights from several days to several hours, Zhao said.

The China Economic Weekly reported that the civil aviation authorities also plan to expand the reform by 2015 to open all the country's low-altitude airspace to the general aviation industry. More than 36 percent of the space has been available since January.

Though the reform has no direct effect on private business craft, the authorities' attitude toward the general aviation industry sends a signal that the long-awaited market boom is around the corner, said Embraer in its report.

lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn

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