Asia Bizz: Last week, Mainland China’s first fixed base operator service was launched in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. The recent development was noticed by insiders as the breakthrough in the second year of China’s reform of airspace management.
Reports state that the boom for private sector is yet to come and it demands more policy support from the government and also more investment by industry players. Normally, a fixed-base operator provides storage, repair, aircraft sales, maintenance and sales of aircraft parts along with the other services.
The general manager of Zhuhai Xirui General Aviation Company, Chen Shaochang said that it intends to open more fixed-base operator facilities in Shenyang, Jilin, Dandong and Daqing in the northeast China in the upcoming years. Moreover a network of 40 such facilities is expected to take shape b y the year 2020, which will help in facilitating those who commute between cities in private jets.
Earlier the companies would sell aircraft and plane parts along with fuel, but then fell short in providing other services such as the aircraft repair and maintenance. In China, private jets cannot fly freely at present as the low altitude airspace is under the control of the air force.
