China civil aviation sector Jan-Nov profit 17 bln yuan, up 74%

Li Jiaxiang, newly-appointed head of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), said at an industry conference that the sector posted operating revenue of 241.8 bln yuan in the 11 months, according to Xinhua.

Airline profit rose 104 pct to 11.3 bln yuan in the 11 months to November, while airports reported profit of 3.9 bln yuan, up 31 pct, Xinhua said.

In 2007, Li expects passenger traffic to rise 15.9 pct to 185 mln persons, with cargo traffic to increase 13.3 pct to 3.96 mln tons.

Li said the CAAC will control the deployment of aircraft in 2008, in order to avoid overcapacity and guarantee safe operations.

China had a total of 1,131 aircraft at the end of 2007.

Li also vowed to end frequent delays and cancellations by mainland airlines and threatened penalties for airlines and airports which failed to meet standards, especially during the Olympic Games.