Hong Kong business aviation consulting company Asian Sky Group (ASG) has released its second edition of the Asia Pacific Infrastructure Report. The report outlines the number of fixed-base operators (FBOs), maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facilities, and international airports.

"Back in September 2017, Asian Sky Group released its first Infrastructure Report," says ASG Managing Director, Jeffrey Lowe. "Earlier that same year, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) released its Civil Aviation Development 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020). At that time, it was recognized that China's general aviation industry was advancing 'vibrantly' and according to the Five-Year Plan, China was to have more than 500 general aviation by 2020. A seemingly unachievable objective given that, as of June 2017, there were just 213 airports (with paved runways of 5,000 feet or greater length) in China.

Lowe continued: "Well, as of September 2019, China is now home to 250 airports; the largest contributor to the Asia-Pacific region's overall number of airports, which in 2019 is 1,184. This is an increase from the 1,017 airports in 2017. These results come as passenger and cargo traffic numbers are forecast to grow exponentially throughout Asia Pacific in the coming years."

"By clearly showing current numbers and capacity, this Report defines the aviation industry's most significant infrastructure issues, in hopes of tackling them."

Highlights of this Report include:

- There are 1,184 airports in the Asia-Pacific region, including airports with paved runways of 5,000 feet or greater length. These airports have a total of 69 Fixed-Base Operator (FBO) and 229 Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities serving the region's growing aviation market. Of the 229 MROs, 116 facilities provide fixed-wing maintenance.

- Australia is home to 185 business jets and 853 helicopters. The country's fleet is supported by 253 airports, 21 FBOs, 17 fixed-wing MROs and 35 helicopter MROs. It is the most developed country, in terms of infrastructure, in the region.

- China has witnessed significant growth in the country's aviation infrastructure since 2017. It has a total of 250 airports, 12 FBOs, 35 fixed-wing MROs and 31 helicopter MROs to support its aviation market. Although most of the facilities lack the capabilities to perform heavy checks and overhaul operations, the country is expected to grow as an MRO center as its fleet ages and capability improves.

- Hong Kong is still facing severe over-capacity issues and is burdened with the constantly increasing influx of traffic from around the world. The city, which serves as the base for 128 business jets, is underserved with only one international airport, one FBO, five fixed-wing MROs and one helicopter MRO. The country has limited parking capacity, severely hindering the MRO capability of the facilities.

- Overall, the Asia-Pacific region has 22 factory-owned service centers and 156 authorized service centers. Notable is the number of country approvals the MRO facilities have, which reflect their capacity to provide maintenance services on aircraft registered there or in popular offshore jurisdictions. There are 36 regulatory approvals in the Asia-Pacific region, a stark difference from the US and European markets, where the maintenance facilities are either FAA or EASA approved. Some of the most common country approvals, apart from FAA and EASA, include Hong Kong or China "B" registry, India's "VT" registry and Australia's CASA.

- Textron has the largest business jet service center coverage in the Asia-Pacific region, with one factory-owned MRO and 18 authorized service facilities. Embraer comes in next with 14 authorized service facilities. Textron, Bombardier, Gulfstream and Boeing are the only OEMs with factory-owned business jet MRO facilities in the region (two Bombardier owned facilities, one Gulfstream, one Textron, and one Boeing).

- Airbus Helicopters has the most extensive coverage in the region, with eight factory-owned MRO and 14 authorized service facilities. Leonardo Helicopters also has a strong presence with two factory-owned MROs and 18 authorized service facilities.

- Following Australia, China has the second highest number of FBOs in the region with nine, primarily located in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

The Asia Pacific Infrastructure Report will be released in English and Chinese. Hard copies of the report will be available at the Asian Sky Media booth at the Macau Airshow (Booth A01 - A02). A digital version will be available at: www.asianskymedia.com.

Contributed by Asian Sky Group