CAAC: Further improve sector flight volume review indicators to guide airlines in reasonably arranging capacity deployment.

On October 8, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued the "Optimization Measures for the Review of Domestic Route Flights," which proposed that in terms of sector market access, regulation should be implemented based on indicators such as the number of carriers, passenger load factor, and passenger traffic volume, guiding carriers to reasonably enter sector markets and promoting orderly resource allocation; in terms of sector flight volume management, review indicators should be further improved, support measures should be given to backbone network and basic network routes, and airlines should be guided to reasonably arrange capacity deployment; in terms of operating permit management, requirements should be clarified for continuously meeting permit conditions, calculating flight execution rates, incentive measures for voluntarily returning and voluntarily canceling flights, and operational efficiency supervision, so as to improve route operating permit management and exit mechanisms. The full text is as follows: Notice of the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Issuing the "Optimization Measures for the Review of Domestic Route Flights" To all regional administrations of the CAAC, all transport airlines, and all airport companies: In order to thoroughly implement the relevant requirements of the State Council on promoting the high-quality development of the civil aviation industry, implement the work arrangements of the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Construction of International Aviation Hubs," further improve the allocation and use efficiency of domestic route flight resources, and make every effort to build a high-quality and efficient air transport service system, the CAAC has formulated the "Optimization Measures for the Review of Domestic Route Flights." They are hereby issued, and you are requested to conscientiously comply with and implement them. Civil Aviation Administration of China September 8, 2026 Optimization Measures for the Review of Domestic Route Flights In order to conscientiously implement the relevant policy requirements for promoting the high-quality development of the civil aviation industry, focus on the goals of building an aviation hub functional system and the construction of the domestic air transport backbone network and basic network, thoroughly rectify "involution-style" competition, and further improve the scientific and refined level of domestic route flight resource allocation, these measures are formulated in accordance with the "Civil Aviation Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Provisions of the Civil Aviation Administration of China on the Operating Permits of Domestic Routes" (CCAR289TR-R1, hereinafter referred to as the "Operating Permit Provisions"). I. Sector Market Access In accordance with the needs of air transport market supervision and macro-control, indicators such as the number of carriers, passenger load factor, and passenger traffic volume shall be comprehensively used to optimize domestic passenger market access management. (1) Classified Management of the Number of Carriers Multi-carrier sector markets are divided into backbone network and basic network markets, among which the basic network is divided into two categories: sectors not involving airports with passenger throughput below 2 million, and sectors involving airports with passenger throughput below 2 million. The average number of carriers in each type of market shall be used as the respective review target value. If the number of carriers in a sector reaches the target value, new entrants shall be suspended; if it does not reach the target value, airlines shall be allowed to enter in an orderly manner. When an airline applies for a route operating permit involving an existing sector, it shall not be regarded as a new entrant to that sector and shall be handled in accordance with Article (7) of these Measures. Within the 4 flight seasons from the date of implementation of these Measures (until the 2028 summer/autumn flight season), where the main hub operator applies to open a sector originating from the aviation hub where it operates, or the main base airline applies to open a sector originating from its main base to a non-international aviation hub, it shall not be subject to the restriction on the number of carriers. (2) Requirements for the Number of New Entrants During each centralized review, sectors that comply with the "Review Rules for Domestic Route Flights of China Civil Aviation" (Civil Aviation Regulation [2024] No. 26, hereinafter referred to as the "Review Rules") and the relevant provisions of these Measures may admit 1 new carrier, and the new carrier's newly added flight volume shall not exceed 14 flights/week. When more than 1 airline meets the conditions, the order shall be determined as follows: Priority shall be given to supporting carriers operating stopover routes between international aviation hub airports to adjust stopover routes to direct routes. When a carrier applies to adjust to a direct route, it shall simultaneously return the original stopover route operating permit; Support shall be given in sequence to main hub operators opening sectors originating from the aviation hub where they operate, and main base airlines opening sectors originating from their main base to non-international aviation hubs; Priority shall be given to supporting airlines with higher weighted scores, calculated by weighting the "Five Rates" score and the regular flight plan execution rate score as stipulated in the "Review Rules" at 50% each; If the review result cannot be determined according to the foregoing indicators, it shall be determined in order of application time. (3) Market Cultivation Period Protection Measures Market cultivation period protection measures shall be implemented for single-carrier sectors involving airports with passenger throughput below 2 million. Airport passenger throughput shall be based on the data referenced at the time of application; if the airport passenger throughput exceeds 2 million during the cultivation period, it shall not affect the already confirmed market cultivation period protection qualification. Starting from the 2026/27 winter/spring flight season, new entrants and existing carriers may apply for market cultivation period protection. After review by the CAAC and CAAC regional administrations, the application shall be publicly announced in the relevant system. If there is no objection after the public announcement, market cultivation period protection shall be confirmed. Within 2 years from the date the application is confirmed, new entrants shall not be approved. Newly put-into-use airports shall not be subject to market cultivation period protection within 2 years from the date of being put into use. During the cultivation period, existing carriers shall maintain stable route operations and shall not suspend flights without justification. If, for company reasons, the flight volume is less than 2 flights/week for 4 consecutive weeks, it shall be deemed to have automatically given up the protection qualification, and 0.1 points shall be deducted from the "Five Rates" score for each route. Existing carriers may apply to withdraw from protection. After confirmation by the CAAC and CAAC regional administrations, it shall be announced in the relevant system. If protection is applied for again after withdrawal, 0.1 points shall be deducted from the "Five Rates" score for each route. After the cultivation period expires, before the sector's seasonal passenger load factor reaches 90% and the seasonal passenger traffic volume reaches the industry average for the single-carrier sector market, and on the premise of complying with the "Review Rules" and other provisions of these Measures, the newly added flight volume for each sector in each flight season shall not exceed 14 flights/week, and priority shall be given to supporting existing carriers in increasing flight volume. If an existing carrier applies to increase flight volume to 14 flights/week, no new carrier shall be admitted; if the existing carrier does not apply to increase flight volume or the applied increase is less than 14 flights/week, 1 new carrier may be admitted within the difference. After the new carrier enters, the sector shall no longer be protected. (4) Passenger Load Factor and Passenger Traffic Volume Indicators Multi-carrier sector markets are divided into five types of sectors: between international aviation hubs, between international aviation hubs and regional aviation hubs, between regional aviation hubs, between aviation hubs and non-aviation hubs, and between non-aviation hubs. The average passenger load factor of each type of sector or industry opinions shall be used as the passenger load factor review target value. At the same time, a sector market passenger traffic volume indicator shall be introduced, and according to the classification of the number of carriers in the sector, the average passenger traffic volume of sectors of the same type shall be used as the review target value. For sectors that reach the passenger load factor or passenger traffic volume review target value, airlines shall be allowed to enter in an orderly manner on the premise of complying with the "Review Rules" and the relevant provisions of these Measures. For sectors where neither the passenger load factor nor the passenger traffic volume reaches the review target value, new entrants shall be suspended. Within the 4 flight seasons from the date of implementation of these Measures (until the 2028 summer/autumn flight season), where the main hub operator applies to open a sector originating from the aviation hub where it operates, or the main base airline applies to open a sector originating from its main base to a non-international aviation hub, and the number of carriers in the relevant sector reaches the review target value, it shall not be subject to passenger load factor or passenger traffic volume restrictions. (5) Support Policies for Basic Network Development Airlines are encouraged to enter flight information into the "Domestic Connecting Flight Service Management Platform" and actually operate it, actively carry out domestic connecting flight business, and improve the level of transfer facilitation services. In calculating the proportion of domestic connecting flights actually operated in the same flight season to the company's overall actually operated domestic flights, as well as the total volume of domestic connecting flights actually operated, the top 3 airlines in each ranking may, when admitting new carriers, apply for exemption for 2 sectors per company per flight season from one of the passenger load factor or passenger traffic volume review indicators. Exempted sectors of the same airline shall not be counted repeatedly. II. Sector Flight Volume Management (7) Passenger Load Factor Regulation Passenger load factor review shall be implemented in accordance with the standards of Article (4). If the passenger load factor does not reach the review target value, approval for increasing flight volume shall be suspended; if it reaches the review target value, carriers may apply to increase flight volume on the premise of complying with the "Review Rules" and other provisions of these Measures. During each centralized review, the flight volume increase applied for by each carrier in each sector shall not exceed 14 flights/week, and the number of carriers approved to increase flight volume in each sector shall not exceed 3. When more than 3 carriers in the same sector apply to increase flight volume, priority shall be given to supporting airlines with higher weighted scores, calculated by weighting the "Five Rates" score as stipulated in the "Review Rules" and the airline's regular flight plan execution rate score on the routes involved in the sector at 50% each. If the review result cannot be determined according to the foregoing indicators, it shall be determined in order of application time. (8) Support Policies for Aviation Express Lines For sectors between international aviation hubs and between international aviation hubs and regional aviation hubs that have not reached the domestic aviation express line standard (168 flights/week), priority shall be given in sequence to supporting main hub operators and main base airlines in increasing flight frequency. When there are more than 3 carriers receiving priority support, it shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Article (7), Paragraph 2. (9) Support Policies for Backbone Routes Between Regional Hubs For sectors between regional aviation hubs with flight volume not reaching 56 flights/week, priority shall be given to supporting main base airlines in orderly increasing flight volume. If none of the airports involved in the route has a main base airline, priority shall be given to supporting the top two airlines by actual flight volume at each airport in the same flight season. When there are more than 3 carriers receiving priority support, it shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Article (7), Paragraph 2. (10) Support Policies for Regional Market Development When a carrier applies to increase flight volume on sectors with an average weekly total flight volume of less than 14 flights and involving airports with passenger throughput below 2 million, it may be exempted from passenger load factor review. (11) Support Policies for Domestic Connecting Flights For airlines ranked in the top 3 respectively in the volume of domestic connecting flights actually operated and the proportion of domestic connecting flights to the company's overall actually operated domestic flights, when increasing flight volume, they may apply for exemption from passenger load factor review for 2 sectors per flight season. Exempted sectors of the same airline shall not be counted repeatedly. (12) Supporting Group Companies in Strengthening Route Network Coordination Group companies shall be supported in strengthening route network coordination. For sectors where the number of carriers reaches the standard in Article (1), if one carrier within the group exits the sector, another existing carrier in the sector may be exempted from various review requirements when increasing flight volume on that sector, and the increased flight volume shall not exceed the flight volume returned when the same group carrier exited the sector. If a carrier that exited a sector again applies for a route operating permit involving that sector, 1 point shall be deducted from its "Five Rates" score. Applications that have already applied this provision shall not be subject to the incentive measures stipulated in Article (18) of these Measures. III. Flight Plan Arrangement (13) Flight Plan Arrangement Airlines may flexibly arrange flight frequency according to actual market conditions. (14) Optimizing the Flight Plan Filing Process The support and guarantee capacity of the information system shall be improved, the domestic route flight management procedures shall be optimized, the time limit for filing regular flight plans shall be further shortened, and the approval procedures for irregular flight plans shall be standardized. IV. Operating Permit Exit (15) Continuously Meeting Permit Conditions The route operating permits held by an airline shall remain consistent with the business scope stated in its "Public Air Transport Enterprise Operating License." If, due to a change in the business scope stated in the "Public Air Transport Enterprise Operating License," the relevant route operating permit exceeds its business scope, the airline shall, within 1 month from the date of the change in business scope, voluntarily apply to cancel the corresponding route operating permit. (16) Calculation of Flight Execution Rate Route operating permits shall be applied for and issued separately by flight season. The 2026/27 winter/spring flight season change shall be a policy transition period. All routes shall be carried over based on the maximum flight volume of the previous two flight seasons and assigned separately to the winter/spring and summer/autumn flight seasons. In subsequent season changes, each airline's route flights shall be carried over according to the flight volume stated in the permit for the same flight season of the previous year. Increments applied for in the winter/spring flight season shall be used only for the winter/spring flight season, and increments applied for in the summer/autumn flight season shall be used only for the summer/autumn flight season. The CAAC shall monitor the implementation of airline route operating permits. The permit execution rate shall be monitored by route as the dimension and calculated monthly, with the formula: "monthly (actual operated flight volume + exempted flight volume)/approved permit flight volume for the month 100%." The permit execution rate shall be managed on a flight season cycle. Exemption matters shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Review Rules," and the permit execution rate shall be exempted during the Spring Festival travel rush. (17) Voluntary Return of Route Operating Permits and Flight Volume The CAAC and CAAC regional administrations shall accept applications for cancellation of route operating permits and return of flight volume on a monthly basis, except during season changes and the period of centralized acceptance of route flight applications during the season. Airlines may return route operating permits or flight volume during the acceptance period. When applying to return a route operating permit, the airline shall indicate the proposed cancellation date in the application, and the proposed cancellation date shall not exceed 2 months from the date of submission of the return application. If an airline repeatedly applies during the most recent review of the same type of flight season for a route whose operating permit has been returned, 0.3 points shall be deducted from its "Five Rates" score. When applying to return flight volume, execution of the corresponding flight volume shall cease from the date of approval; if an airline repeatedly applies during the most recent review of the same type of flight season for a route whose flight volume has been returned, 0.1 points shall be deducted from its "Five Rates" score. The assessment of the pass rate for route operating permit applications shall be canceled. (18) Incentive Measures for Voluntary Cancellation of Route Operating Permits In order to encourage airlines to optimize capacity layout, on sectors that comply with the carrier number review requirements of Article (1), if an airline voluntarily cancels an operating permit, it may be exempted from passenger load factor and passenger traffic volume review when applying for new route operating permits in the same flight season. The specific standards are as follows: If the number of carriers in the sector reaches the target value and is fewer than 10: for each route canceled, the airline may enter 2 new sectors on sectors that comply with the carrier number review requirements of Article (1); If the number of carriers in the sector is 10 or more: for each route canceled, the airline may enter 4 new sectors on sectors that comply with the carrier number review requirements of Article (1). When applying to admit new carriers after canceling a permit, the ranking rules stipulated in Article (2) shall apply. (19) Regulatory Measures for the Operational Efficiency of Route Flights Except where affected by force majeure, if an airline falls under any of the following circumstances, the CAAC or the CAAC regional administration shall order rectification within a time limit; if it still does not meet the permit conditions after the time limit, the relevant route operating permit shall be revoked. During the rectification period, the airline may apply to cancel the route operating permit. After newly obtaining a route operating permit, no flight plan is arranged within 3 months from the planned date of commencement of operations; For its own reasons, the permit execution rate in any flight season is below 50%, except for routes operated exclusively by one airline; On sectors where the number of carriers reaches the carrier number review standard in Article (1), the permit execution rate ranks last for two consecutive same flight seasons, and the permit execution rates are both below 85%. (20) Provisions on Deduction of "Five Rates" Points If an airline falls under any of the circumstances listed in Article (19), it shall be included as a deduction item when calculating the "Five Rates" score, and deductions shall be made according to the following standards: If it voluntarily applies to terminate the route operating permit during the rectification period, 0.1 points shall be deducted from the "Five Rates" score for each route; If it does not voluntarily apply to terminate, and after rectification still does not meet the permit conditions, resulting in revocation of the route operating permit, 0.2 points shall be deducted from the "Five Rates" score for each route. V. Supplementary Provisions For the purposes of these Measures, "main base" refers to the main operating base airport stated in the public air transport enterprise operating license and the main base airport specified in the "Notice on Matters Concerning the Base Construction Plan for Airlines at Beijing New Airport" (Civil Aviation Development [2016] No. 50). According to relevant Tibet aid policies, when Tibet Airlines applies for routes between Chengdu and Tibet, routes from Chengdu to relevant Tibet-aid provinces and cities, and routes from Chengdu to relevant airports in Tibetan counties of Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, and Qinghai provinces, it shall be regarded as the main base airline of Chengdu Shuangliu Airport. When the same city has two or more airports, operating permits shall be issued in accordance with the "same market" principle. Filed flight plans shall indicate the specific airport. For the purposes of these Measures, "main hub operator" refers to an airline selected and determined by the CAAC in accordance with the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Construction of International Aviation Hubs" (Civil Aviation Development [2024] No. 28) and relevant supporting documents, after comprehensively considering factors such as airline support capacity and operational efficiency, and dynamically adjusted in accordance with relevant rules. For the purposes of these Measures, "backbone network" refers to routes between hub airports, and "basic network" refers to routes other than the backbone network. For the purposes of these Measures, "carrier" refers to an airline that actually operated direct routes in the corresponding sector in the same flight season of the previous year, as well as an airline that obtained a route operating permit for that sector in the previous flight season or the current flight season; except where the route operating permit has been canceled. These Measures shall be implemented in conjunction with the "Review Rules for Domestic Route Flights of China Civil Aviation." If the contents of the two are inconsistent, these Measures shall prevail. The CAAC shall be responsible for the interpretation of these Measures. These Measures shall take effect from the change of the 2026/27 winter/spring flight season. This article is edited from the official website of the "Civil Aviation Administration of China," GMTEight editor: Xu Wenqiang.