Plan to integrate Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei air transport

A draft of the instruction on integrating air transport systems in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province, which was released by the North China Regional Administration of the CAAC in Tianjin Municipality on Tuesday, officially kicked off the three areas' coordination of civil aviation.

"The instruction has been drafted mainly to improve the regional airports' integrated development and help them establish a fair market environment,"said Wang Changyi, director of the development and planning department at the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Wang said the instruction aims at promoting further construction of an airport-based regional transport network.

"It reminds the local authorities of the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei areas that an effective transportation network could be realized by building dimensional connections among high-speed rail, subways, highways and airports," he said.

The instruction also noted the importance of facilitating the overall aviation industry, including the logistics industry and air finance.

Yan Xin, general manager of Tianjin Binhai International Airport, said the outflow of passengers from Beijing Capital International Airport, gives Tianjin an opportunity to expand its airport business.

According to a report by Beijing Youth Daily, Beijing Capital International Airport was the world's second-busiest airport in 2013, serving more than 83.69 million passengers as of Dec 31, an increase of 2.2 percent from 2012.

"Beijing's new airport is expected to be completed by 2018. In this period of time, Tianjin will assist the capital to ease the huge pressure and develop its own aviation industry with regional advantages."

Tianjin plans that its international airport's annual passenger throughput will reach 30 million by 2020. Its annual cargo throughput is forecast to reach a goal of 1 million metric tons.

Yan said a cooperative agreement with Tianjin Port, the largest comprehensive port in Northern China, is likely to be signed within the year to advance the linkage of sea and air transport.