More flights bypass Beijing airspace

Starting from Wednesday, 21 domestic air routes linking cities in Northeast China to other regions will begin to bypass the congested airspace above Beijing, the People's Daily reported Wednesday.

The move, aimed at alleviating congestion and reducing the number of delays at the Beijing Capital International Airport, is among a recent series of measures by the Air Traffic Management Bureau under Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The plan, which involves a total of 36 flights, will see air routes bound for southern, southwestern and northwestern parts of the country bypass this area.

The flights involved are operated by 21 airlines heading in seven directions to places in central southern China, and Southwest and Northwest China.

Three of those directions, to the Southwest and Northwest regions, are being changed to pass over Tumurtei, Hohhot and Baotou of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Four directions to central southern China will pass over Dalian, Liaoning Province, and Qingdao, Shandong Province.

The solution also takes economic factors and fuel consumption into account, with the increased flight distance not exceeding 10 percent.

In the past, flights leaving Beijing have often been taking off, while other planes have been trying to land and this had the potential to cause traffic jams, Zhu Xiaoying, an official with the Air Traffic Management Bureau, told CCTV.

The new plan benefits flights leaving Beijing, as well as those that used to fly over Beijing, Zhu added.

On average, 817 flights leave Beijing capital airport every day, statistics from the bureau show.

Li Xiaojin, a professor with the Civil Aviation University of China, told the Global Times Wednesday that the solution could save some space for flights leaving Beijing, and to some extent help improve punctuality.

He also predicted that the solution could provide examples for other big airports, like those in Shanghai and Guangzhou, to follow.

Li admits the situation has been improving recently since measures have been taken by CAAC. But there are many other factors that delay flights and should be improved, he said.

Aviation expert Zhang Qihuai told the Global Times that there are nearly 30 factors that could cause flight delays, relating to weather conditions, flight crew, passengers, ground service, refueling, luggage transportation among others, and only when all those relevant factors are synchronized, can delays be reduced.

"When any part is out of order, the flight cannot take off," said Zhang.

The rate of flights leaving on time at China's big airports is much lower than that of other countries, with the rate at the Beijing Capital International Airport being 18.30 percent, and Shanghai Pudong International Airport being 28.72 percent in June, according to statistics from FlightStats.