China has outlined a blueprint to build 74 new civil transport airports by 2020, according to the Civil Aviation Development 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The Plan says there will be 30 airports under construction and 44 newly-built in the period, which will then bring the total number of civil transport airports to about 260 by 2020. Besides, 139 airport expansion projects are planned.

"These projects would make trips to China's third tier cities (generally the medium-sized cities of each province) much easier," the CAAC said.

Meanwhile, as airports are being expanded, airline traffic is booming and civil aircraft development is moving ahead.

Chinese civil aviation sectors are forecast to achieve a 28 percent increase in air passenger turnover by 2020, despite the imminent opening of thousands of kilometers of high-speed rail lines.

Air passenger number will grow 10.4 percent annually to 720 million by 2020, while cargo volume may increase 6.2 percent to 850,000 tonnes.

In parallel, airline on-time arrival rates are targeted at 80 percent and passenger numbers to increase by 28 percentage points.

What's more, China's general aviation industry is advancing vibrantly. According to the Plan, by 2020, the country will have more than 500 general aviation airports.

It is also hoped there will be over 5,000 general aviation aircraft and 7,000 general aviation pilots by 2020. Total annual flying time is estimated to rise to 2 million hours by 2020, it added.

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