Airports in China to get $196m in subsidies

The Civil Aviation Administration of China issued its subsidy policy, amounting to 1.21 billion yuan ($196 million), to the country's 146 small airports nationwide for 2015, according to an announcement released on CAAC's website on Monday.

The Civil Aviation Development Fund will be responsible for providing the money, which ranges from 4.28 million yuan in subsidies for Changhai Airport in Liaoning province to the highest 16.29 million yuan for Kashgar Airport in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The provinces to receive the most sums of subsidies are Xinjiang, Sichuan, Yunnan, Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang.

Data shows that the number of airports to receive subsidies has increased from 135 and the total amount of subsidies has risen from 1.08 billion yuan in 2014.

Small airports that operate at a loss throughout China have been a serious problem. According to some reports, up to 80 percent of small airports lose money, with the biggest deficits coming from airports that have more airport employees than passengers.

Li Jiaxiang, director of CAAC, said last week: "Out of the 200 airports nationwide, only around 50 are making a profit, with the rest all making losses that are caused by the management system of the airports."