China's aviation regulatory agency, the General Civil Aviation Administration of China, announced that China's domestic airlines will be given open access to fly from or through Shanghai beginning in 2005. The opening of Shanghai's two airports to domestic carriers will effectively nullify part of a 2003 ban that prohibits domestic carriers not based in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou from flying between two cities in which they are not headquartered. As a result of the planned relaxation of rules, Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines will be able to operate on the popular Beijing-Shanghai route beginning in 2005. The announcement of the opening of Shanghai to domestic carriers coincided with a government call to make Shanghai an international air hub.
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