News « China Aviation Law

15Feb/110

China opens up General Aviation Test Airspace over Hainan – 海口飞行管制分区低空空域管理改革试飞活动

One of the biggest hurdles to the civil aviation in China has been the military's tight control on the airspace. The vast majority of delays for commercial aircraft are from the ATC. Commercial pilots expect a long wait to get their clearance to push back from the gate. Once airborne, pilots can expect any number of odd holds and approach procedures to adjust for military traffic.

Fly the beautiful grey skies of Haikou

For example, while in cruise on one my flights between Shenzhen and Beijing, we had three separate holds. On approach into Beijing, we dropped down to about 10,000 feet very quickly and spent the last 120 miles so at slow speed and low altitude.

The tight control over the airspace has created problems for general aviation. There are no VFR flights. Instead, all flights must be on a flight plan and pre-approved by the governing agency.

However, this week, the Chinese Civil Aviation Authority (CAAC) took steps toward greater freedom in general aviation. It has opened test general aviation airspace over Hainan island below 1,000 meters. The flights will be conducted by four helicopters flying without the need to seek permission prior to each flight.

Over the next five years, similar test areas will be rolled out over other provinces. Aircraft flying above 1,000 meters and below 4,000 meters will still be required to file a flight plan but, if the tests go well, they will not need to seek approval from authorities.

Hainan is a tourist island for the Chinese. These initial flights will be local sightseeing tours. However, Hainan is within GA tank-of-gas range from the cities in the pearl river delta and I hope that we will soon see GA traffic between Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Haikou.

Landing at Hainan on a better day.

For Chinese coverage of the story see:http://www.hainan.gov.cn/data/news/2011/01/122266/ ; http://zs.hainan.gov.cn/ASPX/ArticleShowContent.aspx?Seq=2006013484

For English coverage of the story see: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/02/03/352678/prviate-helicopter-flights-take-off-in-hainan.html

Full Text of the Hainan Government Press release in English after the break.

Tagged as: General Aviation in China, Haikou, Hainan, Helicopter Tourist Flights, 直升机， Continue reading

30Jan/111

China evacuates oppressed Egyptian Chinese – 国航派包机赴开罗执行紧急撤侨任务

There are over 500 Chinese stuck in the Cairo airport. In response, the Chinese Government has sent an Air China A320 to rescue some of them.

The A320 which holds 265 people is staffed by a crew of 6 pilots, 10 stewardesses, and a compliment of security and maintenance crews.

This begs the question: Is it really a rescue mission if you are evacuated to a country where the populace has fewer rights?

Regardless, it is an unprecedented move by the Chinese government. Air China does not fly to Cairo. They have had to arrange new airspace agreements and fly into an unknown airport all in a short period of time.

Source: http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/s/2011-01-31/1029630874.html

Full Text in Chinese after the break.

Tagged as: A320, Air China, China, Egypt Evacuation Continue reading

13Jan/110

Taiwan Takes Baby Steps Toward General Aviation

When I first went to Taiwan, I thought it would be like Hong Kong, with private helicopters ferrying from sky scraper to Songshan and around the island. At the very least, I expected to occasionally see some private jet traffic and small aircraft. However, but my expectations were not to be met.

Indeed, it took 4 months before I saw my first helicopter, a military helicopter doing exercises of the coast of Taidong (台东). I often traveled past Songshan airport and I don't think I ever saw a private jet come into that location.

The reason is that Taiwan does not allow private aviation. Between being under martial law for 50 years and the constant conflict with the Mainland, Taiwan has never opened up for private aviation.

The closest they come to GA is microlight aircraft, hang gliders, and para gliders. There is one English language website which covers this scene. http://www.wingstaiwan.com .

Unfortunately, today, Taiwan is rather short of airfields. Outside of the major population centers like Gaoxiong, Hualian, Taidong, and the islands, there are very few places that are free to be developed. It is a shame that the government didn't convert the number of airfields that were left over from WWII. Indeed, the central park in Linkou 林口 , was once a US air base.

However, I was heartened by the news this week that Taiwan was starting a charter airline company.

The government-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC) flew its maiden flight last Saturday from Taichung City in the interior of the island state to Kinmen Island, off its coast. The company is using Astra SP aircraft it imported in 2000. The company hopes to run both domestic and international charters and has set its sights Hong Kong, Macau, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Manila. The big plum in the Taiwanese charter business is behind a geopolitical roadblock.

Source: http://www.avweb.com/avwebbiz/news/Taiwan_Government_Starts_Charter_203902-1.html

The prospect of a direct flight from Gaoxiong to Shanghai on a private aircraft is very attractive to Taiwan's growing class Mainland-based businessmen.

This is yet another example in a long list (chartered mainland flights, airmail service, non-Hong Kong diverted flight to Shanghai) of Taiwanese government actions to normalization of air travel in the next few years.

The Astra SP is the aircraft of choice for the Taiwanese Charter Service. (A bit of an odd choice as there were only 37 ever built)

Tagged as: Charter Flights, General Aviation, Taiwan No Comments

13Dec/100

Chinese Airlines to Pay for Delays (in theory) – 航班延误赔偿”标准”

In 2004, the CAAC promulgated rules that mandate that airlines compensate passengers who are delayed for more than 4 hours. However, those rules, in 《航班延误经济补偿指导意见》, did not provide any details on the amount, means, or enforceability of that compensation. Recently, the China Air Transport Association has promulgated a provisional regulation that outlines those areas. The document "Provisional Air Transport Service Rules for Service and Compensation on not-as-scheduled flights" 航空运输服务质量不正常航班承运人服务和补偿规范（试行）, outline compensation and service standards in the case of not-as-schedule flight. (Anyone have a better way to translate 不正常？ It literally means "not normal.")

The rules propose compensation for delays which are attributable to the airlines, e.g. flight plan, maintenance, flight deployment, transportation services and crew troubles. If the delay lasts four to eight hours, airline companies are required to provide ticket discounts, equivalent mileage accumulation or other compensation worth 300 yuan or 200 yuan in cash. If the delay is longer than eight hours, airline companies are required to provide ticket discount, equivalent mileage accumulation or other compensation worth 450 yuan or 300 yuan in cash. (Stealing a joke from Shanghaiist: I hope that the "other compensation" is not free tickets to the expo.)

However, delays attributable to the following non-carrier problems will not be compensated - weather, emergencies, air traffic control, passengers' security inspection, and public safety. As the vast majority of delays in China are attributed to its schizophrenic division of air traffic services by the military, or the weather, I doubt this policy will see much effect.

Finally, as it is an industry promulgated policy, which is not binding in a legal sense, airlines are free to ignore it. Indeed, Shanghai's Spring Airlines (a ultra-low cost carrier) has decided not to participate in the policy. Indeed, it may even be ignored by the industry association that promulgated the policy. The CATA is no longer advertising its existence and has removed the press release from its website.

For Chinese news coverage of this story:

http://tour.rednet.cn/c/2010/11/03/2103282.htm

http://www.chinanews.com.cn/cj/2010/11-03/2631364.shtml

For English news coverage of this story:

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/7185323.html

http://shanghaiist.com/2010/11/03/chinese_airlines_required_to_pay_yo.php

Tagged as: CATA, Flight Delay, Passenger Compensation, Spring Airlines, 中国航空运输协会, 春秋航空, 航班延误 No Comments

21Nov/100

中共中央　国务院关于加大统筹城乡发展力度进一步夯实农业农村发展基础的若干意见

Opinions of CPC Central Committee and State Council on efforts to increase urban and rural development and further reinforce the foundation of agriculture and rural development.

新华社北京1月31日电

中共中央　国务院关于加大统筹城乡发展力度进一步夯实农业农村发展基础的若干意见（2009年12月31日）

2009年，是新世纪以来我国经济发展最为困难的一年。面对历史罕见国际金融危机的严重冲击，面对多年不遇自然灾害的重大考验，面对国内外农产品市场异常波动的不利影响，各地区各部门在党中央、国务院的坚强领导下，迎难而上，奋力拼搏，巩固和发展了农业农村好形势。粮食生产再获丰收，连续6年实现增产；农民工就业快速回升，农民收入连续6年较快增长；集体林权制度改革全面推进，农村体制创新取得新的突破；农村水电路气房建设继续加强，农民生产生活条件加快改变；农村教育、医疗、社保制度不断健全，农村民生状况明显改善；农村基层组织进一步巩固，农村社会和谐稳定。这为党和国家战胜困难、共克时艰赢得了战略主动，为保增长保民生保稳定提供了基础支撑。

Filed under: News Continue reading

« Newer Entries Older Entries »

About the Author

Casey DuBose is 3L at Seattle University School of Law. Upon graduation he hopes to practice aviation law. For now, he is an owner/instructor at the Du Family Chinese School in Seattle, Washington and a FAA certified flight instructor. He may be contacted via email, or twitter.

This blog is intended to present news and original research on the growing aviation market in China. For those interested in general articles about China, please see my other blog The Du Family Blog, which is co-authored by my wonderful wife.

我是西雅图大学法律系三年级的学生。毕业后，我想执业于航空法律。我目前在华盛顿州的布雷默顿当飞行教师，并且在西雅图教授初级中文。我的写作专长在与中国、航空、和法律相关的议题。请浏览我的个人博客 dufamily.com 及专业博客 duchineselaw.com.