China News Service, March 29. The Civil Aviation Administration of China held a special press conference on promoting the development of low-altitude economy on the 29th. Shang Kejia, deputy director of the Transportation Department of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, introduced the reform and development of general aviation in recent years and pointed out that the new drone industry is booming. As of the end of 2023, there were 1.267 million registered drones in the country, a year-on-year increase of 32.2%; there were 19,000 companies operating drones; statistics on civilian drones flew 23.11 million hours throughout the year, a year-on-year increase of 11.8%.
Shang Kejia said that the Central Economic Work Conference held last year made major arrangements for the creation of low-altitude economic strategic emerging industries, and the government work report clearly made work arrangements. The general aviation (including drones) industry is an important engine for the development of the low-altitude economy. In recent years, the Party Committee of the Civil Aviation Administration has focused on the high-quality development of general aviation in the new era, anchored goals, and taken multiple measures simultaneously, creating a new situation in general aviation work.
First, strengthen organization and leadership. Since the State Council issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of the General Aviation Industry" in 2016, the Civil Aviation Administration of China has incorporated "flying together on both wings" into its overall work philosophy, established a leading group for general aviation work, with the main leading comrades as group leaders, and holds annual meetings to specifically deploy work. Formulate special plans for general aviation development during the 13th and 14th Five-Year Plans, break down tasks, and push ahead with progress.
The second is to establish the concept of classified management. The "Guiding Opinions on Classified Management of General Aviation" was issued to clarify the implementation of classified management of transportation and general aviation, business and self-use, passenger-carrying and non-passenger-carrying flight activities. Focus on supervising the operation of passenger and manned navigation, continue to investigate and manage hidden risks, and lay a solid foundation for safe development. Comprehensively sort out laws, regulations and rules, and promote the reconstruction of a navigation regulatory system with Chinese characteristics.
The third is to deepen reforms inward. Significantly relax market access, introduce a notification and commitment system for approval, establish an integrity system, and advocate industry self-discipline. Pilot the joint verification of dual licenses for business licenses and operation licenses to reduce system costs. Industry inspections were carried out, and more than 30 civil aviation regulations were formulated and revised focusing on the problems discovered during the inspections, changing the institutional environment for applying transportation aviation standards to supervise general aviation. Licensing matters such as approval for general aviation enterprises to operate overseas, registration of non-commercial general aviation activities, and approval for the introduction of general aircraft will be canceled to reduce the burden on enterprises and release market vitality.
Fourth, pilot innovation injects momentum. The approvals have successively involved aviation reform pilots in multiple fields such as license approval optimization, regulatory model adjustment, airport construction classification, cross-business integration, emergency rescue and rescue, information platform construction, drone logistics and distribution, covering more than 80% of provinces. Support local governments in establishing unmanned aviation test zones.
The fifth is to build a low-altitude flight service support system. The three-level support system of national information system, regional information system and flight service station has been basically established, and "one-stop" approval for general aviation low-altitude flights has been initially implemented. Open up a "green channel" for emergency rescue flight plan approval and strive to improve the navigation operating environment.
Sixth, synergy, linkage and gathering of forces. Actively participate in the pilot reform of low-altitude airspace management and explore a model of joint construction and governance between the military and civilians. In conjunction with the development and reform, industry and information technology, culture and tourism, health, sports and other departments, a number of policies and measures were introduced. Promote the inclusion of general aviation in the supervision and incentive mechanism of the General Office of the State Council, and provide relevant incentive policies to six cities including Changsha, Hefei, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Ganzhou, and Shenzhen, giving full play to the enthusiasm of both the central and local governments.
Shang Kejia pointed out that with the joint efforts of many parties, general aviation has achieved rapid development in recent years.
First, traditional navigation is making progress while maintaining stability. As of the end of 2023, there are 690 registered general aviation companies in the country, operating 2,900 aircraft, and flying an average of 114,000 hours per month, which are 2.5 times, 1.5 times and 1.8 times those in 2015 respectively.
Second, the new drone industry is booming. As of the end of 2023, there were 1.267 million registered drones in the country, a year-on-year increase of 32.2%; there were 19,000 companies operating drones; statistics on civilian drones flew 23.11 million hours throughout the year, a year-on-year increase of 11.8%.
The third is to continuously improve support capabilities. As of the end of 2023, there will be 449 general airports across the country, 7.4 times the number in 2015. Local governments and civil aviation control units have built a total of 28 flight service stations, serving 26 provinces. Aviation fuel services have basically achieved full coverage of general airports. 2,128 traditional general aviation aircraft are equipped with Beidou terminals, accounting for more than 70% of the fleet.
Fourth, the safety level is stable and controllable. From 2016 to 2022, the average annual compound growth rate of traditional general aviation flights was 8.1%. The fatal accident rate per 10,000 hours during the same period was less than 0.06 (0.1 in the same period in the United States). The number of accidents per million hours was 13 and the number of fatalities was 11. In 2023, the number of general aviation flights will increase by 27.5% compared with 2019, the accident rate per 10,000 flights will decrease by 42.1% compared with 2019, and the general aviation safety situation will be relatively stable.