Eight airports test flight with less delays

chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2013-07-31 17:23

Eight airports will be the first to benefit from new rules that will ease air traffic restrictions and improve delays.

Currently, restrictions on take-off are often a result of giving way to military operations or simply if a destination airport is too busy.

But now, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Kunming and Xi'an, and Shanghai's Hongqiao and Pudong international airports will not be subject to air traffic controls.

Cui Jianqiang, deputy director of the Operations Management Center under Air Traffic Management Bureau of Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said the new rules, implemented on July 18, will ease the domestic flight delays, dfdaily.com reported.

The program is currently a pilot scheme at eight airports, but little is known about it in the industry or airlines.

Many main domestic airlines have reportedly not received notices about the new initiative.

Internet users believe the new scheme will not stop flight delays they will just spend more time on the ground or in the air.

The industry claimed a flight punctuality rate of 71.73 percent from January to May this year, which is a drop of 3.35 percent from a year before, according to the CAAC. But many seasoned travelers question the figure.