China as the largest aviation market in the world has been growing with great consistency in the last couple of years. The country has seen significant growth in its fleet, with the number of aircraft rising to 2,844 at the end of 2020.
In this context, it also has to be noted that there has been a rise in the number of companies in the Chinese aviation sector. The total number has increased to 523. This was reported by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport of the PRC.
Regarding airports, the number of facilities for civil transport in China rose to 241 in 2020, while the number of general airports totaled 313.
Non-traditional types of Businesses on the Rise
Besides the growth of the more traditional part of the aviation sector, an increase has also been noted in new types of businesses that were not a regular presence on the market in the last couple of years.
One of these subsectors is the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) subsector, otherwise also labelled as the drone industry. As of the end of last year, more than half a million unmanned aerial vehicles were registered in China. The number of flight hours per year conducted by these vehicles was just above 1.6 million.
Parachuting Increasingly Popular
Another interesting subsector of the air transport industry which is seeing a rise in popularity is aerial tourism. This includes mainly parachuting.
At the end of 2020, there were over 100 low-altitude air routes for tourism purposes in the country. China boasts approximately 50 attractions of this kind throughout its whole territory.
But this impressive growth is seemingly not enough for the CAAC. The aviation authority has committed to further strengthen this strategic industry with all means possible. Moreover, there are also plans to draft necessary regulations with regards to aviation sector operation as well as authorization towards the future.