On 2 March 2021, the EU-China Aviation Partnership Project (APP) held an activity specifically dedicated to aerodromes, facilitating a first exchange between EASA and the CAAC Airport Department under the framework of the project. This introduction session was organised with a view to establishing a long-term collaboration between the two authorities in the aerodromes domain, not only to increase cooperation between Europe and China but also to contribute to enhanced safety and efficiency levels.

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The session started with opening remarks by Director General of the CAAC Airport Department and the EASA Flight Standards Director. EASA presented the regulatory framework, certification and Member States standardisation aspects. This was followed by a presentation from the Italian Civil Aviation Authority ENAC on the perspective of EU Member State National Aviation Authorities (NAA), highlighting their roles and responsibilities for aerodromes certification and oversight. Lastly, an introduction of the European aerodromes landscape was given by Airports Council International (ACI) Europe to complete the overview from the European side. From the Chinese side, the CAAC Airport Department gave a presentation introducing China’s civil aviation airport certification management, including the regulatory basis and the relevant procedures. Finally, the Airport Department presented an extensive overview of civil airports management and development status in China, in particular structure of administration, development achievements and future prospects.

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The activity was furthermore attended by the International Cooperation and Service Center of CAAC (ICSCC) as well as a broad representation of European industry, on-site in China as well as online from both Europe and China. Stakeholders were given the opportunity to contribute to the session’s final discussion on future cooperation opportunities. It was concluded that there are many topics on which the two regions have potential to collaborate, and both sides agreed to move forward making plans to realise the necessary exchanges for this.

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Not only was this the first activity EU-China APP organised together with the CAAC Airport Department, it was also the 88th activity of the project to date representing a milestone with high prospects for future EU-China civil aviation cooperation.

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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.