Expansion of Beijing-Kunming air corridor heralds push to unclog skies

Changes to the busy Beijing-Kunming air route have increased the maximum number of planes that can travel between the two cities by 40 per cent, a move that may be repeated throughout the country to reduce flight delays.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said the modified route, which separates north and southbound flight paths laterally instead of vertically, would cut air traffic congestion for 54 cities along the corridor, including Chongqing , Chengdu and Xian .

The air route is one of the busiest on the mainland, handling 1,100 flights daily.

The CAAC's Air Traffic Management Bureau is considering optimising nine more busy air routes, including those linking Beijing and Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou and Shanghai and Harbin, bureau official Zhu Xiaoying told China National Radio.

Zhu did not provide a timetable, saying optimising air routes was a complicated process that involved many considerations.

The public has complained for years about frequent and lengthy delays at airports, some of which are among the world's worst for on-time departures and arrivals. In the first half of this year, only 18 per cent of flights departed Beijing on time. In Shanghai the rate was 28 per cent.