China to introduce more flight paths

China is to open extra flight routes into the country to help deal with extra traffic before the 2008 Olympics, it has been reported.

State newspaper the China Daily said that new flight paths would open between Beijing and Shanghai, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and between Beijing, South Korea and Japan. A new route to Mongolia will also be opened.

"That will be great news for airlines," Wang Yongsheng, a spokesman for Air China, told the China Daily.

"With these routes added, more flights can arrive on time and fewer planes need to circle around waiting for permission to land, which means airlines can cut costs and improve efficiency," he added.

According to China's General Administration of Civil Aviation, there are currently 186 flights between Beijing and Japan every week, with a further 154 flights operating between Beijing and South Korea.

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