Air travel coming to Beijing's no-fly zone

The Beijing Aviation Expo's air extravaganza, featuring "flight experiences" and "air travel," will commence on September 26 at the Beijing Badaling airport. The event will mark the first time aircraft of any kind has been approved to fly over Beijing's urban area, normally a permanent no-fly zone.

All flights during the aviation event will happen at an altitude below 600 meters within a 5 kilometer range stretching from the Badaling airport in Yanqing county to the city of Beijing.

"To realize civil flight transportation (in the Beijing urban area) is in accordance with local development, and will promote the tourism industry for Yanqing county," said Gao Erqing, general manager of China Promotion, one of the expo organizers, at a news conference on Tuesday.

Currently, the world has 320,000 general-purpose aircrafts, while China has less than 1,000 in operation.

For the flight demonstrations, six to seven flights daily have been planned for visitors. Helipads will be ready to facilitate air travel in Yanqing, allowing visitors to view from the air the Great Wall, Longqing Gorge and other scenic destinations.

The organizers will announce to the public in August the types of aircraft that will be used during the aviation expo.

The event opens up unprecedented opportunities for the air transportation industry at home and abroad. Beijing's air travel industry will welcome the new opportunities, with so many historical sites and scenic spots in the city which people from all over the world come to see.

Earlier reports said that Beijing plans to install low-altitude radars on top of 19 high-rise buildings to supervise low altitude flying conditions, all of which will help flying over the capital a possibility rather than remaining just a dream.