China's air traffic congestion is made worse by military control and will need to be loosened to handle more increase from 2001 commercial jets today versus 4200 commercial jets in 2020

China's air force controls airspace and allots only 20 percent to civil aviation. With China’s three biggest airlines planning to add at least 273 planes in the next three years, traffic congestion that already delays 25 percent of flights is set to worsen.

“At present, the limited airspace resource has restricted the development of civil aviation,” said Li Jiaxiang, the head of Civil Aviation Administration of China. “We will strive to further open up the airspace,” he said in Beijing yesterday.

Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines have expanded their fleet as economic growth spurs air travel demand in the world’s most populous nation. China is expected to have 4,200 commercial aircraft in 2020, compared with the current fleet size of 2,001 with 46 airlines, CAAC’s Li said.

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