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SHANGHAI—China
suspended applications for new airlines until 2010 to
prevent the world’s second-biggest aviation industry
from “growing too fast.’’
Pilots
and other workers will also have lower overtime limits
to slow airlines’ expansion plans, the General
Administration of Civil Aviation said on its web site.
China
Southern Airlines Co. and other carriers cut flights
starting Wednesday at Beijing’s airport, the nation’s
busiest, to ease congestion and ensure adequate breaks
for pilots. The country’s passenger and cargo traffic
grew 19.5 percent in the first half, faster than the
government’s target, fueled by the country’s economic
growth.
“Safety
is the government’s first concern,’’ said Ma Xiaoli, an
analyst at Citic Securities Co. in
Shanghai.
“All the airlines are expanding to grab market share,
causing a shortage of pilots and safety-related
resources.’’
Chinese
commercial airlines have an accident rate of 0.29 per
million flying hours, compared with a global average of
0.7, according to the regulator.
The
regulator will still support plans to set up air-cargo
ventures that mainly use foreign pilots and undertake to
fly at night, it said. The formation of airlines
registered in western and northeastern China using
locally made planes will also be encouraged, it added,
without explanation.
China
first approved the formation of privately owned carriers
in 2004. Two new airlines have won approval in the past
three months, according to the regulator’s web site.
Beijing Capital International
Airport, Asia’s second-busiest after Tokyo Haneda, cut
its number of daily flights to 1,050 from 1,100
beginning Wednesday. The tally will fall to a 1,000 by
the end of October, the regulator said.
China
Southern, Air China Ltd. and China Eastern Airlines
Corp., the nation’s three largest carriers, have each
cut 10 daily flights, it added. Hainan Airlines Co., the
fourth-largest, axed eight.
“Reduced
flights may help raise the carriers’ load factors and
ticket prices on Beijing routes,’’ said Ma.
China
Southern climbed by the 10-percent daily limit to 17.56
yuan in Shanghai trading and fell 5 percent to HK$7.45
in Hong Kong. Air China gained 1.7 percent to 15.19 yuan
in Shanghai and declined 4.6 percent to HK$6.40 in Hong
Kong.
Shanghai
Airlines Co., Shandong Airlines Co., Shenzhen Airlines
Co., Xiamen Airlines Co. and Sichuan Airlines Co. also
each cut a daily flight.
Beijing
Capital International Airport Co., the airfield’s
operator, dropped 5.2 percent to HK$11.66 in Hong Kong.
China Eastern’s shares are suspended from trading.
Flights
to the Chinese capital will increase once a third
terminal opens in March, reaching as many as 1,600 a day
during the 2008 Olympics, Yang Yuanyuan, the head of the
General Administration of Civil Aviation, said on July
23.
Beijing
may receive 1.7 million visitors for the Olympics,
including 1.1 million domestic travelers, according to
the city’s Olympic organizing committee. (Bloomberg) |
