Chinas aviation industry loses 28 billion yuan

CHINA’S aviation industry lost 28 billion yuan (US$4 billion) in 2008, according to Yang Guoqing (right), vice-minister of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. This is the country’s biggest loss since the 1970s.

Yang attributed the decline’s start to the extremely heavy snowfall in January, the earthquake that killed 87,000 and then the ongoing financial crisis.

Yang said that the aviation industry often experiences the effects of a financial crisis earlier than other industries.

“An end to the impact of the financial crisis is yet to be seen and rather than be blindly optimistic, the civil aviation industry must actively cope with the crisis,” Yang said. He said that investment in regional airports, particularly in China’s central and western regions, would improve the aviation network and stimulate economic growth.