Government May Open Up Low-Altitude Airspace In May

An official change in government policy may lead to a surge of GA manufacturing in China, as low-altitude airspace is expected to be opened to GA operations in May of this year.

There are currently only about a thousand GA aircraft registered in China, but the Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) said during the 12th National People's Congress that it will soon begin to develop and then manufacture GA airplanes. Xu Heyi, chairman of the BAIC Group, said that he thinks the company can generate the equivalent of $1.6 billion next year in GA.

China Daily reports that the expected change will open low-altitude airspace below about 3,000 feet, and Xu said that BAIC Group is looking to build "reliable general aviation aircraft" to take advantage of that policy shift.

In China, GA covers all civil aviation except commercial airline operations. That ranges from sport flying and flight instruction to air charter and medical transport activities.

BAIC Group and Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics established a joint venture ... the Beijing General Aviation (Group) Ltd, for the development and marketing of GA airplanes.

FMI: http://ev.buaa.edu.cn/