Civil Aviation Administration of China

中国民用航空局
Agency overview
Formed	1949
Jurisdiction	People's Republic of China
Headquarters	Dongcheng District, Beijing
Agency executive	Feng Zhenglin, Director
Parent agency	Ministry of Transport
Website	www.caac.gov.cn

CAAC headquarters

Flight Inspection Center of CAAC

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; simplified Chinese: 中国民用航空局; traditional Chinese: 中國民用航空局; pinyin: Zhōngguó Mínyòng Hángkōng Jú), formerly the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (simplified Chinese: 中国民用航空总局; traditional Chinese: 中國民用航空總局; pinyin: Zhōngguó Mínyòng Hángkōng Zǒngjú), is the aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents.^[1] As the aviation authority responsible for China, it concludes civil aviation agreements with other aviation authorities, including those of the Special administrative regions of China which are categorized as "special domestic".^[2] It directly operated its own airline, China's aviation monopoly, until 1988. The agency is headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing.^[3]

The CAAC does not share the responsibility of managing China's airspace with the Central Military Commission under the regulations in the Civil Aviation Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国民用航空法, Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Mínyòng Hángkōng Fǎ).

History[edit]

CAAC was formed on November 2, 1949, shortly after the founding of the People's Republic of China, to manage all non-military aviation in the country, as well as provide general and commercial flight service (similar to Aeroflot in the Soviet Union). It was initially managed by the People's Liberation Army Air Force.

CAAC Ilyushin Il-62 at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport in 1974

In 1963, China departed from its policies of Marxist self-sufficiency with a purchase of six Vickers Viscount aircraft from Great Britain, followed in 1971 with four Hawker Siddeley Trident aircraft from Pakistan International Airlines. In August 1971 the airline purchased six Trident 2Es directly from Hawker Siddeley.^[4] The country also placed provisional orders for three Concorde aircraft. With the 1972 Nixon visit to China the country ordered 10 Boeing 707 jets. In December 1973 it took the unprecedented step of borrowing £40 million from Western banks to fund the purchase of 15 additional Trident jets. Russian built Ilyushin Il-62 aircraft were used on long range routes during the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1980 the airline was transferred to the direct control of the State Council.

In 1988 CAAC Airlines was divided up into a number of individual air carriers, each named after the region of China where it had its hub. Since then, CAAC acts solely as a government agency and no longer provides commercial flight service.

In March 2008, CAAC was made a subsidiary of the newly created Ministry of Transport, and its official Chinese name was slightly adjusted to reflect its being no longer a ministry-level agency. Its official English name has remained Civil Aviation Administration of China.

CAAC Airlines[edit]

List of directors[edit]

List of Directors of the Civil Aviation Administration of China:^[5]

• 
  Zhong Chibing (November 1949 – October 1952)


• 
  Zhu Huizhao (October 1952 – June 1955)


• 
  Kuang Rennong (June 1955 – June 1973)


• 
  Ma Renhui (June 1973 – June 1975)


• 
  Liu Cunxin (June 1975 – December 1977)


• 
  Shen Tu (December 1977 – March 1985)


• 
  Hu Yizhou (March 1985 – February 1991)


• 
  Jiang Zhuping (February 1991 – December 1993)


• 
  Chen Guangyi (December 1993 – June 1998)


• 
  Liu Jianfeng (June 1998 – May 2002)


• 
  Yang Yuanyuan (May 2002 – December 2007)


• 
  Li Jiaxiang (December 2007 – January 2016)


• 
  Feng Zhenglin (January 2016 – present)

Affiliated universities[edit]

• 
  Civil Aviation University of China (CAUC) in Tianjin
  


• 
  Civil Aviation Flight University of China (CAFUC) in Sichuan
  

See also[edit]

• Transport in the People's Republic of China


• List of airports in the People's Republic of China


• China's busiest airports by passenger traffic


• List of airlines of the People's Republic of China


• Civil Aviation Department (Hong Kong)


• Civil Aviation Authority (Macau)

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Civil Aviation Administration of China.

• 
  CAAC Official site (in simplified Chinese)
  


• 
  CAAC Official site (Archive)


• 
  Flight Inspection Center of CAAC (in English)/(in simplified Chinese)
  


• China - Civil Aviation


• 
  Civil Aviation Management Institute of China, Civil Aviation Safety Institute (in simplified Chinese)