China’s airline industry is booming but GA industry barely rates a second glance – why?

Wu Zhendong, chairman of the Asian Business Aviation Association, recently stated that when the GA industry in China began over half a century ago in 1951, its primary goal was to carry out agricultural missions. It was not until after the cultural revolution in 1971 that China’s GA industry underwent a planning and revival phase that lasted roughly two decades.

After 1996, China’s annual GA growth represented the highest growth in the world. But a lack of aviation infrastructure, high operating costs, regulatory restraints, and unfavourable public perceptions stopped the nation from reaching its full GA potential, including the use of helicopters.