China Moves To Relieve Air-Traffic Congestion

China's move to open its skies to more civilian planes should bring some relief to travelers in a country notorious for flight delays.

The airspace regulations are being put into place before the Beijing Olympics in August and a planned change in the public-holiday system that would give citizens more leisure time. By halving the required vertical distance between planes in the air, China has doubled the number of aircraft that can fly at any one time, bringing its burgeoning aviation industry in line with developed-nation standards.

China's military controls the nation's skies and allows 30% of the airspace for passenger planes, making China one of the world's most restrictive countries in terms of aviation. Civilian planes are allowed to fly at certain levels within an altitude of 8,400 to 12,500 meters. The number of levels has now increased from seven to 13, the same number as in the U.S. The change went into effect Thursday.

China's General Administration of Civil Aviation said Friday that the regulations will 'greatly reduce the air and ground delays caused by the shortage of usable layers, increase air-traffic flow, improve flight-traffic jams and flight delays, and raise the efficiency of civil aviation.'

While industry observers will watch China's skies for signs of trouble under the new regime, its implementation isn't sudden. Chinese aviation authorities have approached the transformation gradually -- for example, by beefing up air-traffic control systems -- in an effort to minimize risks.

Many industry officials and analysts have long felt that China's extra vertical-airspace buffer has been so cautious as to be antiquated. The most recent fatal-accident rates for China were lower than America's and Europe's, despite double-digit annual growth in the number of hours China's airlines fly.

On the other hand, the nation's flight delays are frequent and often happen without clear explanations. The most recent large-scale incident began Tuesday, when airspace controls were imposed over eastern China for unspecified reasons, according to state media. More than 150 flights were delayed in Shanghai, affecting 7,000 passengers in the first two days, state media reported. Meanwhile in Guangzhou, 1,600 passengers had their travel plans disrupted on the first day. State media said the controls were to be removed at midnight Saturday.

China's airspace may be stretched to the limit next year, as the country prepares for the Olympic Games, when two million domestic and international visitors are expected in the capital alone.

A government plan to expand public holidays may also test the aviation industry. The plan would increase the legal holidays to 11 from 10 and give citizens more three-day weekends, which would likely increase demand for short domestic trips.

中国政府终于同意向民用航空开放更多空域，此举应该能让那些饱受航班延误之苦的旅客们松口气了。

中国明年8月份将迎来夏季奥运盛会，而拟议中的公共假期调整也会为老百姓创造更多休闲时间，新的航行规定正是在这样一种环境下出台的。此次中国宣布将民航飞行高度层的垂直间隔缩小一半，从而使飞机的巡航高度层数量增加一倍，这使中国蓬勃发展的航空业向发达国家标准又迈进了一步。

目前中国的空域仍然控制在军方手中，向民用航空开放的空域只有30%左右，这使中国成为全球对航空管制最为严格的国家。在中国，民航飞机只能在8,400米以上、12,500米以下的空域飞行。新规定让民航飞机的巡航高度层增加到13个，与美国的数量相同。该规定已于上周四生效。

中国民用航空总局(General Administration of Civil Aviation)上周五表示，此规定的实施将极大减少由于可用高度层缺乏而造成的空中和地面延误，增加空中交通流量，减少航路拥堵和航班延误，提高民用航空运输效率。

虽然业内观察人士会继续关注此次调整可能引发的新问题，不过这一调整并不是贸然实施的。为确保新规定的实施万无一失，中国民航部门此前已逐步进行了一些调整，例如强化空中交通管制系统等。

一直以来，许多业内管理人士及飞行员都认为中国在飞行高度层垂直间隔上的规定过于谨慎，甚至可以说是守旧。不过在民航飞行时间每年以两位数增长的同时，近段时间以来中国的民航事故死亡率却要比欧美国家更低。

但另一方面，中国的航班延误不但频繁，而且经常给不出明确的解释。这样的例子最近就有，据中国官方媒体报导，从上周二开始华东地区实行了不明原因的航空管制。在实行管制的头两天内，上海有150个航班遭延误，受影响的旅客达7,000名。

明年中国的航空交通可能要接受容纳上限的考验。预计奥运会期间仅首都北京就将接待200万国内外旅客。

此外，拟议中的公共假期调整对航空业而言也是一大考验。根据计划，中国每年的公共假期将由目前的10天增加至11天，并且会产生更多连休三天的“长周末”，国内短途旅行很可能会因此增加。

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