Aviation: Airport gives yellow warning to frequently late airlines

By Wu Jiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-06-19 10:03

Not every late arriving and departing domestic flight at Beijing's Capital International Airport will be excused in future.

The airport has vowed to crack down on the number of flight delays by threatening to "suspend the operations of airlines which are frequently late".

According to a notice issued by the airport over the weekend, domestic flights which miss arrival times by more than 50 percent of their schedules or rack up more than 20 departure delays will be listed and publicized every month.

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A yellow warning will be given to airlines blacklisted. Those that receive more than two warnings will have their operations terminated, the notice said.

They are also designed to "lay a foundation for smooth air transportation during the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games", said Yang Guoqing, vice-minister of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China.

The airport also announced new efforts to improve ground services and its monitoring system.

Two inspection lanes will be added to speed clearance of passengers. And more Custom officers fluent in foreign languages have been employed, according to members of a special anti-delay workshop led by the airport's general manager Zhang Zhizhong.

A pilot scheme to shorten take-off intervals has also been implemented, including rearrangement of boarding gates, and updating of the airport's computer system.


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