Civil aviation authorities plan to open up all domestic air routes by 2010, a move expected to boost the industry.

In its clearest signal yet, the General Administration of Civil Aviation (CAAC) said on its website that airlines will no longer need approval for new domestic flights and instead be required to only submit plans to do so.

"It is possible that in the near future, flights to only five cities need approval. Our goal is that by 2010, all flights to airports in all cities do not need CAAC approval," said CAAC head Yang Yuanyuan in a press release. "Airlines will just need to report to us for file purposes."

Currently, the CAAC controls all flights coming in and out of the mainland's eight busiest airports for aviation safety. They are the Beijing, Shanghai Hongqiao, Shanghai Pudong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Kunming and Dalian airports.

The CAAC also manages the flights to the top 15 airports with the largest passenger volume.

The authorities started opening up the domestic flight network two years ago.

Last October, a pilot project saw Wuhan allowing domestic airlines to register new air routes to the city.

Officials stressed that the opening up will be gradual.

Industry players said the expansion will also allow small, private airlines to fly to busy airports. Currently, almost all private airlines, established after 2005, cannot get into air hubs such as Beijing and Shanghai.

But some fear the move might lead to fierce price competition and losses in the industry, CITIC China Securities analyst Li Lei said.

Earlier reports of the authorities mulling the idea of letting airlines bid for lucrative routes also led to some concerns that such a move would benefit only big airlines.

(China Daily November 6, 2007)