China's supervisory body for civil aviation has
pledged to develop tighter controls to ensure safer flights.
Safety supervision will top the administration's
efforts next year as potentially dangerous problems still remain,
said Yang Yuanyuan, director of the?Civil Aviation
Administration of China (CAAC).
Yang made the remarks at a two-day national
conference that opened in Beijing on Monday.
While intensifying liability for aviation
enterprises, the administration plans to launch intensive checks of
flight training, aircraft maintenance and overtime flights, he
said.
Since reforms in the civil aviation industry were
completed in July, discrepancies have been found in some companies'
operations and technical standards as well as flight controls and
management.
"The administration and regional aviation
authorities will conduct an assessment of airports' maintenance
capabilities. Those failing to meet requirements will be forced out
of the market," Yang said.
He urged airlines to intensify construction of
operation control centers to improve efficiency in plane
deployment.
"At the same time, airlines must increase input
into training flight and maintenance professionals to improve their
ability to ensure safety," Yang said.
In his annual report, Yang highlighted safety
concerns that have grown since a China Eastern plane crashed in Inner
Mongolia on November 21, killing 55 people.
Yang warned airlines to pay additional attention to
internal safety management as they move to introduce more
airplanes, routes and flights and expand air bases.
Some airlines were found to have neglected safety
and service in pursuit of profit, Yang stressed.
He said the industry's skill set has not kept up
with rapid development and fast growth. Putting both on equal
footing is the top priority for next year.
According to the CAAC, from January to November
passenger transport capacity totaled more than 112 million while
cargo transport hit 2.5 million tons. That's up 41.5 and 26.7
percent respectively from the previous year.
To promote safety management, Yang said his
administration will formulate a system next year to demand airlines
earmark capital for safety training, purchase of facilities for
emergency rescue operation and assessment of potential dangers.
(China Daily December 28, 2004)