Guangdong announces major airport expansion plan

Guangdong province plans to operate a total of 32 general airports, with a general airport density of 1.8 per every 10,000 square kilometers by 2025.

Besides, according to the Layout Plan of General Airports in Guangdong Province (2020-35), the general airport service will cover all the counties in the province by the end of 2035, approaching the level of advanced countries and regions around the world.

By 2035, Guangdong province will have a total of 57 general airports, with a density of 3.2 per 10,000 sq km.

The layout plan was published by the provincial government earlier this week.

In addition to the prosperous cities in the Pearl River Delta, more general airports are being planned in the western and eastern parts of the province.

In addition, transport airports are encouraged to provide more general aviation services in the coming years, said the layout plan.

Meanwhile, Guangdong provincial government has also mapped out plans to build a heliport network that will cover all cities and counties in the province.

The heliport network aims to meet the growing demand for natural disaster rescue, emergency disposal, urban fire control, police flights, low-altitude tourism, agricultural and forestry operations, and commercial and personal use, the plan said.

Guangdong province, which is one of the country's economic powerhouses, granted operation certificates to a total of nine general airports by the end of last year and it leads in general airport operation scale in the country.

By the end of 2019, Guangdong had registered 45 general aviation enterprises and 229 general aviation aircraft, accounting for about 8 percent of the country's total.

In 2019, Guangdong's general aviation flights totaled 106,000 hours, accounting for about 9 percent of the country's total.

The general aviation flights include 37,000 hours for offshore oil operations, accounting for 86 percent of the country's total.