Encyclopedia > Civil Aviation Administration of China
Known by the acronym CAAC, with the official name of General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (中国民用航空总局, pinyin Zhongguo Renyong Hangkong Zongju). The CAAC is an administrative body under the China’s State Council that oversees civil aviation in that country.
Despite its attributions, the CAAC does not have a final say in the formulation of management of Chinese aerospace, having to share this with the Central Military Commission. This translates into very restrictive airspace use and is probably one of the reasons why General Aviation is so far almost non-existent in the country (e.g. as of the end of 2004 the US had over 9000 business jets flying, while China had less than 50)
Source: Civil Aviation Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国民用航空法). Article 72 specifically cites the Central Military Commission's shared responsibility.
CAAC was formed on November 2, 1949, shortly after the communist revolution in China, to manage all non-military aviation in the country (similar to Aeroflot in the Soviet Union).
On September 14, 1983, a CAAC Trident 2E collided with a fighter jet on takeoff from Guilin.
On December 15, 1986, a CAAC An-24 crashed on approach to Lanzhou, killing 6 of the 37 on board.
The China National Aviation Corporation (中國航空公司;, abbrev 中航; CNAC) was a major airline in the Republic of China and currently an aviation holdings company in the People's Republic of China that owns a majority of Air China.
It was established in 1929 as China Airways by Curtiss-Wright, under the leadership of U.S. airline magnate Clement Keys.
CNAC merged into Air China along with China Southwest Airlines in 2004 when the CAAC decided to consolidate the nine major state-owned airlines into three groups.
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