Hebei's 12th Five-Year Plan on civil aviation was released by the Provincial Office of the Leading Group for Civil Aviation Development and Construction on September 16.

According to the plan, the number of the province's civil airports will total more than 7 by the end of the 12th Five-Year period and the civil airport distributions will increase by 5 to 9 during the 13th Five-Year period.

Airports Spread All over the Province: 13th Five-Year Plan

Currently, Hebei has four airports in operation -- Shijiazhuang International Airport, Handan Airport, Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport, and Tanshan airport which is jointly used for military and civilian purposes. During the 12th Five-Year period, the province's airports used for civil transport will increase to over 7 by adding several new airports including Qinhuangdao Beidaihe Airport (relocation), Chende Airport, Zhangjiakou and Xingtai airport for military and civilian use, an official said.

The province's civil airport distributions -- consisting of general airports, commuter airports and takeoff and landing sites -- will increase by 5 to 9 during the 13th Five-Year period. Up to 10 cities in Hebei excluding Langfang are expected to have their own airports. Langfang is not suitable for constructing civil airport because some land of the city will be occupied by the new Beijing airport, the official explained.

Airports within a distance of 100km or one and a half hours' drive will cover over 90% counties by the end of the 12th Five-Year Period.

The construction of Zhangjiakou Airport will be completed by the end of 2011. Other projects will be successively finished by 2012, including the construction of Chengde Airport, Qinghuangdao Beidaihe Airport, as well as the expansion of Shijiazhuang Airport and Handan Airport.

Tangshan Airport is expected to start its expansion program in 2013. The airport will expand its apron and increase its aircraft parking bay from 2 to 7. What's more, Terminal 2 will be built in the east of Terminal 1, covering an area of 15,000 square meters and a usable area of 9,000 square meters. When completed, it can receive more than 1 million passengers annually.

Flight Routes to Reach 120 by the End of the 12th Five-Year Period

According to the 12th Five-Year plan, the province's flight routes is expected to reach 120 by the end of 2015, including more than 70 routes linking Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport; 10 to15 reaching Beidaihe Airport, Handan Airport and Tangshan Airport; another 5 to 10 accessing to Chende Airport for civil use, along with Zhangjiakou and Xingtai civilian and military airports.

Moreover, Shijiazhuang-based Hebei Airlines plans to launch international routes to Korea and Japan.

Special Focus: General Aviation Airport to Be Built in Xibaipo

"As one wing of civil aviation industry, general aviation can strongly drive the relevant industry and receive great profits and promote the development of regional economy with a long industrial chain", said Wang Puqing, Deputy Director of the Provincial Office of Civil Aviation, Hebei province.

Hebei will seize the opportunity of low-altitude airspace reform to achieve breakthrough in the development of general aviation. The province will strengthen the development of general aviation manufacturing base, accelerate pilot training, maintenance, private plane trusteeship, tourism and other general aviation service to build a complete general aviation industry chain.

In addition, Hebei province eyes on a general aviation service system emphasizing corporate aircraft and helicopter and focuses on launching seaplane programs.

About General Aviation

General aviation (GA) is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights. The majority of the world's air traffic falls into this category, and most of the world's airports serve general aviation exclusively.