The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC)  has announced measures to support the aviation industry during the coronavirus outbreak.

These include exempting airlines from contributing to the civil aviation development fund; financial support to encourage international route operations; and reduce airport and air control fees, effective Jan 23.

CAAC also encourages state-owned companies to reduce charges; suspend evaluation of airline on-time performance; and extend the 2019/2020 winter schedule until May 2, 2020.

The Chinese Civil Aviation Administration also said it will increase infrastructure investment, targeting CNY100 billion (US$14.4 billion) investment in fixed assets throughout the year.

The CAAC also said it will shorten approval for applications to resume international operations. 

Earlier, both the Singapore and Hong Kong governments also announced measures to support the aviation industry in this difficult time.

Singapore is preparing an SG$112 million (US$81 million) assistance package for the aviation sector in response to the coronavirus outbreak which is heavily affecting the industry, while Hong Kong has set aside an HK$1.6 billion (US$205.9 million) package to support the industry.