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China's civil aviation authority will offer subsidies to small and medium-sized airports, and on short-distance flights in an effort to boost the industry outside of major hubs.
The General Administration of Civil Aviation, or CAAC, said that it will offer subsidies to airports with annual passenger traffic of less than five million people. It didn't elaborate on the size of the subsidies.
An estimated 80 percent of China's airports will qualify for the subsidies, the administration said, with smaller airports getting larger subsidies.
The administration said it will also subsidise flights within a province and flights less than 600 km long.
Flights with passenger loads of over 80 percent and flights connecting to Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou or major tourist cities will be exempt from the subsidies.
The CAAC also said the State Council, the Cabinet, has approved the extension of the airport construction levy, a tax collected from passengers, through 2010.
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