China's airspace getting too crowded

The number of civilian flights in China increased nine per cent in 2012 adding to the already saturated air routes and experts said more has to be done to improve air traffic control, to keep up with growing demand.

Beijing Airport is the world's second busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers after Atlanta but the country's long-restricted airspace and air traffic control system are finding it difficult to play catch up.

The challenge is growing daily as travel demand increases, leading to frustration and delays for airlines passengers.

According to official statistics, 77.2 per cent of flights were punctual in 2011, hovering below the goal of a punctuality rate of at least 80 per cent.

Brian Davis, vice president of Air Transport & Regional Aerospace Asia Pacific at Honeywell Aerospace, said traffic management is key.

"We are also talking about a very wide geographical area across the country. The airports from the very large complex type of airport all the way to airports that are geographically challenged on the western side of China to the mountainous terrain or other type of consideration that must be looked at when we are evolving ATM (air traffic management) solutions across the country," explained Mr Davis.

According to Chinese government plans, 70 new airports are to be built between 2011 and 2015. Another hundred or so will be expanded or renovated.

That will bring the number of civil aviation airports in China to 230 in 2015. By then, the number of civil aviation aircraft will also increase from the current 2,800 to 4,800.

In China, the military controls 80 per cent of airspace. While the government has plans to expand the limited civilian air space, the civil aviation industry is in the mean time looking to technology and products that help in the flexible use of airspace.

By using technology and more precise calculations of flight paths, more aircraft can safely use the same amount of space.

Industry players said China can leverage international experience to accelerate its progress in air traffic management.

Mr Davis said: "I think what I see different about China is they are at a stage of the evolution that we can bring these technologies in, not repeat the historical instillations that the US and Europe have done for the last 20 years, and actually leapfrog the rest of the world by bringing in a modern technology into the country right now.

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There numbers we see here are pretty scary. The airports, the aircraft and the capacity. China seems to be crowded be it on land, sea or air. With their government controlling a huge 80% of airspace, it will only get worse if this rule isn't relaxed to cater for the balloon in traffic.