The government should speed up the reform of low-altitude airspace management to boost China's general aviation sector, national lawmakers and political advisers have suggested.
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China started to relax tight control on its low-altitude airspace in 2011 and opened up the airspace below 1,000 meters in nine selected regions to suitably qualified general aviation aircraft.
However, the country's low-altitude airspace is still dominated by the air force and the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
Private aircraft are required to file for approval before they can take off. The time-consuming and complicated application procedure has frustrated many who want to own aircraft and has hampered demand for private jets in the country.
"We request related authorities to continue to streamline their approval procedures for general aviation flights," Meng said. "The government should also gradually open the airspace below 3,000 meters to enable more aircraft to fly."
Even after an aircraft receives permission for a flight, the pilot still has to deal with a host of difficulties, such as a lack of airports that can support general aviation aircraft and a lack of ground service professionals.