FBO and MRO Facilities – China GA Report 2019

Serving the rapidly expanding, and still relatively young, general aviation fleet in China is an extensive network of fixed-base operators (FBOs) and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities.

As of June 30, 2019, 9 FBOs were established that provide ground support services for general aviation. These are in major cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

The latest FBO to join the network was the Guangzhou Yitong FBO located at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. The Guangzhou FBO was opened at the end of 2017 and has a business jet terminal with CIQ and other FBO facilities — a 20,000-squaremeter (215,000 sq ft) hangar and an 88,000-square-meter (947,000 sq ft) dedicated apron for business jets.

The next full FBO to serve China will be at the Beijing Daxing International Airport, which opened in September 2019. The FBO is a joint venture between US-based FBO chain Million Air and Capital Jet (CJET) and is set to begin operations in the summer of 2020.

As China’s GA industry continues to evolve there will be a need for more infrastructure, including airports, FBOs and MROs. At present, the GA industry is in a period of rapid development, making FBOs a necessary tool to support the growing industry. Many of today’s FBOs are learning from those in more developed markets to understand the most suitable operational model in China.

Maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities provide the necessary support to aircraft and aircraft operators. With the growth of GA has come the rapid development of the MRO industry, dedicated to GA aircraft.

As of June 30 2019, there were 26 major MRO companies providing heavy maintenance (inspection of 12 month or higher, repair or overhaul) service to helicopters, 17 MROs providing for business jets and 11 MROs providing to turboprop and piston airplanes. MRO facilities in China can be categorized to three types: OEM directly or cooperatively established MRO, OEM authorized MRO or third-party MRO approved by CAAC Part 145.

GA airports and policies aimed at further developing infrastructure are vital in ensuring the development of GA. The CAAC has planned for the total number of GA airports to exceed 2,000 by 2030, with policies aimed at local and provincial governments, which will consequently promote the development of MRO facilities in China.