Citing its experience with three airports and related industrial parks and the first general aviation flight service station, Zhuhai Aviation City & Airport Group is positioned to usher in the general aviation industry of China.

Shi Lei, general manager of the Zhuhai Aviation City & Airport Group made that observation Sept 27 at the 5th Forum on General Aviation Development in Central & South China. The group, which is involved in running Airshow China, has constructed Zhuhai (Jinwan) Airport, Zhuhai Lianzhou General Aviation Airport, Yangjiang (Heshan) General Aviation Airport, and Zhuhai General Aviation Flight Service Station.

In addition to non-commercial business and private airplanes, general aviation aircraft such as unmanned aerial vehicles are expected to appear more in tourism, logistics, agriculture, and other industries.

Shi said Zhuhai (Jinwan) Airport saw passenger throughput exceed 10 million in November 2018, and by 2027 is expected to handle 198,000 flights, 27.5 million passengers, and 104,000 tons of cargo and mail annually. A new terminal, taxiway, apron, and transport hub are under construction.

Zhuhai Lianzhou General Aviation Airport [Photo courtesy Guanhai App]

To the north, Zhuhai Lianzhou General Aviation Airport in Doumen District has been open since March 2019. It is the best equipped of its kind in Guangdong Province for general aviation flights, emergency rescue, flight training, general aviation exhibitions, aerial photography and surveys, disaster monitoring, aircraft assembly and test flights, maintenance, and refueling. A second phase of construction has commenced.

Yangjiang (Heshan) General Aviation Airport, under the trusteeship of the Zhuhai group, is said to have most ideal airspace conditions in South China. The coastal city airport, west Zhuhai on the other side of Jiangmen, has undergone the first phase of renovation and expansion. Under leadership of Zhuhai Aviation City & Airport Group, Yangjiang Aviation City Airport Investment Holdings is expanding the general aviation industry chain with construction of a domestic first-class, professional, and characteristic general aviation industry base. 

In addition, Zhuhai General Aviation Flight Service Station was built by the group in 2014 in Zhuhai Aviation Industrial Park as a pilot established by the National Air Traffic Control Committee. It provides meteorological data collection and rescues services.

This sound infrastructure will accelerate the formation of a general aviation service system in western Guangdong, Shi said.

As of now, Central and South China is home to 132 enterprises dealing in general aviation and to 2,335 unmanned aerial vehicle enterprises. Companies CITIC, COHC, and DJI are placing the region at the forefront of the country in flight operations.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) reports that new business formats of the domestic general aviation industry have sustained growth. China registered 523,600 USVs with an annual flight time of 1.59 million hours by the end of 2020, up 27.5 percent year on year. It had 339 general aviation airports, of which 36 were equipped with emergency rescue bases.

More than 100 low-altitude aerial sightseeing routes now serve more than 50 5A scenic spots across the country and carried 756,000 tourists. In all, 1,002 aircraft operated by 141 general aviation enterprises were deployed on 378 epidemic prevention and control missions, which transported 91 tons of supplies and logged 2,362 hours of flight time.

Song Xujia of the CAAC said the administration will offer the regional government comprehensive support in policies, projects, funds, and resources for regional general aviation development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).