East China's Fujian Province is planning to expand its
civil aviation sector by building more airports and offering more
flights to both domestic and overseas destinations.
The General Administration of Civil Aviation (CAAC) has agreed
to give the province, which sits on the western side of the Taiwan
Straits, both policy and financial support.
The goal is to transform Fujian into a major channel for
cross-Straits air transport, while accelerating cross-Straits
cooperation in civil aviation.
A press release distributed yesterday said Fuzhou Changle and
Xiamen Gaoqi airports would be developed into air hubs.
The province will also expand its existing airports as well as
build new facilities to form a network.
The CAAC will support the province's efforts by approving new
international routes to Fujian to places like Tokyo and Seoul. It
will also endow Fuzhou with the Fifth Freedom, which would allow
airlines serving any two countries to pick up passengers or cargo
at a third country.
Xiamen is already one of the few airports in the country to have
been designated a Fifth Freedom airport.
Fujian Province now ranks seventh nationwide in terms of
passenger volume handled. It served 13 million passengers last
year. The province would like to handle 19.5 million passengers by
2010.
(China Daily April 6, 2007)