Plan for low altitude tourism wins approval

A proposal to let tourists see parts of Hainan province aboard aircraft flying at low altitudes has passed an examination by authorities, the Shanghai Securities News reported Sept 10.

The proposal is the first to specifically concern such "low-altitude tourism" in China and comes in response to the Several Opinions of the State Council on Promoting the Development of Aviation Industry, which were released in July.

Sanya, Hainan province, will build an international seaplanes center and work to combine the general aviation and Sanya's tourism industries, according to the plan.

China's general aviation industry is expected to develop extensively in the next three to five years, some business insiders said.

Reforms of regulations concerning low-altitude airspace are expected to be initiated by 2015 and completed by 2020, Du Qiang, deputy director of the office of the National Air Management Traffic Committee said at the Beijing International Business Aviation Show on Sep 4.

Li Jiaxiang, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, also said special airports for business jets will be built near large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.