China to slow growth in aviation

Flight numbers are being cut at Beijing International Airport

China's aviation regulator is to limit the number of new Chinese airlines and cut the amount of flights, as it moves to boost safety in the industry.

No new Chinese airlines will be approved until 2010, after fears that the sector is expanding too quickly on the back of China's economic boom.

But the regulator says there will be a number of exceptions, such as for freight carriers.

With China's air traffic up 16% a year, safety checks are also being increased.

'Problems more pronounced'

Other exceptions to the ban on new airlines will be services in China's less developed west, and for those carriers that promise to operate mostly at night, or with Chinese-made planes.

The restrictions on the number of flights are being introduced at Beijing International Airport, the country's busiest.

"As the regulator, we have clearly noted... development problems of lack of technical personnel, airspace and airport ability are getting daily more pronounced," said the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China.

"To guarantee safety and ensure the good, quick, healthy and well-ordered development of the industry, the civil aviation department has decided to control the number of flights, permission for market entry and rate of growth."