Starting immediately, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the country’s aviation industry regulator, will conduct a project for the rest of the year seeking to ensure smooth flights in four airports in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
A series of measures will be taken to reduce flight delays including setting up an overall coordination command, an information communication system and a system to minimize cancellation of flights.
Li Jiaxiang, minister of the CAAC, was quoted as saying at the meeting, "It is an important measure to lift civil aviation’s operation quality." Analysts said the move shows airlines are readying themselves to fight back as more high speed rail lines are completed.
Since 2005, the flight on-schedule rate has stayed above 80%, but still lags behind public expectations.
The People’s Daily newspaper reported last week that high speed rail transport during the Spring Festival will have a capacity equal to 29% of civil aviation’s.
Global Times reports that internal problems with aviation companies, such as flight scheduling, account for 42.07% of delays, followed by air traffic control problems at 20.65%and weather at 25.92%.