Airline News from China

China's aviation authority, citing safety concerns, has announced plans to scale back flights at Beijing airport and prohibit the creation of new airlines before 2010. According to the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, in 2007 China's airlines have carried 19.6 percent more passengers than in 2006. This has put a strain on ground support. Flight arrivals and departures at Beijing Capital Airport will be restricted to 1,050 per day by the end of October, and decrease to 1,000 per day by the end of March 2008. China's three biggest carriers, Air China, China Eastern and China Southern, will be required to cut a total of 336 daily flights. There was no mention of foreign airlines being affected.

In other airline news out of Asia, in the wake of China Airlines Boeing 737-800 flight C1120 catching fire on the runway of Japan's Naha airport Monday morning, Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration has ordered China Airlines and its Mandarin Airlines subsidiary to ground 13 other Boeing 737-800s pending inspections.