On June 28, officials from the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) and the upper echelons of the world aviation circles attended the 1st China International Air Routes Summit 2007. The main focus of this summit was on international routes. When talking about the Guangzhou Baiyun Airport's development in international flights, the Department of Air Transport Regulation of the CAAC's Deputy Director Liu Wanming said that CAAC was in favor of further expanding the opening of aviation rights of Guangzhou's air transport market, encouraging the airlines from both home and abroad to increase Guangzhou's long distance and local routes, actively promoting Guangzhou during negotiations with foreign airlines to guide them to open air routes to Guangzhou and encouraging the airlines to increase more new air routes in Guangzhou.

President Liu Zijing of Guangdong Airport Management Corporation said, "Guangzhou is situated in the center of the Asia Pacific region with innate advantages to become a transit hub. Among the existing domestic hub airports, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport is the shortest to fly directly to South East Asia, the Middle East, Oceania and Africa.

Guangzhou has had 49 international routes in the three years after the new Baiyun Airport was put into service. One can arrive in over 50 foreign cities from Guangzhou by air. And Guangzhou will add 50 more international routes before 2010.

Vice Mayor Ganxin said that Guangzhou would add 15 international routes this year. Besides the 10 international routes developed by the Southern Airlines, another 5 were developed by foreign airlines, covering Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and etc. The deployment of the route networks of Guangzhou Baiyun Airport would be further perfected.

In order to support the airlines that take Baiyun Airport as their base, the Guangzhou Municipal Government will grant a subsidy of RMB 10 million to each international route developed by the Southern Airlines that departs originally in Guangzhou.

Editor: Yan