Remoter regions short haul air services and Public Service Obligation experience exchange visit
13-17 May 2019
The EU-China Aviation Partnership Project (APP) successfully facilitated a week-long visit from 13-17 May, welcoming a CAAC-led delegation to Europe for an experience exchange on the operation of short haul air services to remoter regions.
The aim of this activity was to exchange knowledge on how such regional operations can best be organised, including compliance with applicable regulations, subsidisation possibilities in the context of the European Public Service Obligation (PSO) regulation, and the most appropriate types of aircraft used. The European experience in these areas can support the CAAC in its consideration for specific rules and regulations to further develop short haul air transport.
The delegation visited the French Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGAC) in Paris, its regional office in Blagnac, and the Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency (AESA) in Madrid, who presented the regulation and overall experience of the respective countries in support of short-haul air transport operations to remoter regions. Exchanges on the practical organisation, such as optimisation of the network, operation cost plan, infrastructure support, and aircraft selection, were delivered by experts from the Merchant Airline Federation of France FNAM, the Limoges Airport and regional operator Binter Canarias. Finally, the European aircraft manufacturer ATR presented to the delegation the economics of regional aircraft suitable for PSO operations, which included a visit to the simulator for these types.
The experience exchange visit underlined the importance of PSO routes subsidised in remoter regions. The Chinese delegation consisted of 6 representatives, from CAAC, CAAC’s regional administrations, and the China Academy of Civil Aviation Science and Technology. The discussions with different types of stakeholders in the system gave the delegates a comprehensive view of regional operations in Europe.
You can find the supporting resources for this activity here. A password is required, to request access please contact Wang Lili at lili.wang@eu-china-app.org.