Airlines, airports punished for delays

Poor performers will be barred from adding new flights, routes

China's aviation regulator has barred six airlines and two airports from adding new regular flights, chartered flights or destinations after they failed to meet punctuality targets.

Hunnu Air (Mongolia), Ariana Afghan Airlines, Turkmenistan Airlines, Somon Air (Tajikistan) and Air Algerie have been told they may not apply to add services until Dec 31. Air Manas (Kyrgyzstan) received a three-month suspension that ends on Nov 30.

Another 12 domestic and international airlines, including Hebei Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines and Jetstar Japan, have also received warnings, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, which announced the penalties on Wednesday.

Beijing Capital International Airport, the nation's busiest hub, failed punctuality assessments for five consecutive months, from April to August, and has been barred from adding flights or routes until March 31.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport, another major hub, failed assessments from February to May and then again in July and August, and has been barred until Dec 31.

Both airports can apply for international time slots only to replace existing domestic flights during the suspension, the CAAC said.

Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport also received a warning for failing an assessment in August.

The penalties are based on a guideline released in December for assessing and improving flight punctuality. The CAAC has issued notices about penalties eight times since then.

According to the guideline, airports and airlines that operate in the country face suspension or warning for appearing at the bottom of the punctuality rankings.

After a monthly assessment, airlines that are directly responsible for 8 percent or more of their own delays and cancellations－as opposed to bad weather, for example－and rank in the bottom three for overall punctuality, will be barred from adding new flights for three months.

Those with an arrival punctuality rate lower than 60 percent and which rank in the bottom three for overall punctuality will receive a warning.

An airport will be warned if its departure punctuality is less than 75 percent and it ranks in the bottom three for punctuality. If that happens for two consecutive assessments, they will get a three-month suspension, and for six consecutive assessments will get a six-month suspension.

Penalties should become more strict if an airport or airline's punctuality rate remains low, according to the guideline.