IATA: Mainland China needs flexible use of airspace to resolve delay issues

IATA DG and CEO Tony Tyler said (22-Feb-2016) mainland China air routes and delays are a major efficiency issue. With traffic expansion of 11% p/a, "managing growth in air traffic management capabilities is a major challenge" with 33% of Chinese flights delayed in 2015. According to Mr Tyler, there has been a 10ppt deterioration in on-time performance in China in just five years, even with a measurement of 30 minutes from the scheduled arrival time, instead of the global standard definition of 15 minutes. He noted that flexible use of airspace and the support of the military for such use is the "critical issue" for ATM in China. [more - original PR]