CAAC to allow 35 new direct routes

Beginning March 12th until the end of the year, China’s aviation regulator will allow 35 new direct routes in an effort to reduce carbon emissions and counteract the global financial crisis.
The shorter routes will mainly link busy airports, including Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. This move can also help airlines save fuel costs and ease congestion at some of the country’s busiest airports, such as in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi’an and Qingdao. Some of the new routes also cut travel time between the Pearl River Delta and far-flung regions such as Europe and Mongolia. During the Spring Festival this year, the CAAC also opened direct routes to cope with rising demand. The routes saved more than 2,400 tons of fuel by cutting flying distances by 280,000 kilometers and helped to reduce discharge of carbon dioxide by 7,600 tons.