Capt's Blog: If you are flying into China for the 1st time, be prepared for some mark differences especially after transiting HK with their excellent and accommodating ATC. China RVSM airspace uses the metric system and if your aircraft do not have meters scale then you must have a China RVSM conversion table ready. On busy airways they will ask you to offset sometimes until 10 nm left or right of track.
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| Offset traffic in China airspace. |
We have given up asking for direct routes, ATC will just ask you to stick to flight plan. It seems there are still a lot of restrictive airspace for non schedule private jets. Also in China, ATC communicates in Mandarin with Chinese aircrafts and in English with the rest. The spoken English is real fast and sometimes it's hard to make out what they are saying. Asking anything out of the ordinary may results in long wait and frequent 'stand by' replies while they try to make out what you are asking.
More often than not, corporates jets don't get the higher levels they requested so it's better to have extra fuel on board especially departing from ZBAA Beijing International. Expect delay for your departure or request ATC early, even then we were delayed by 45 mins because of runway change. Priority are given to landing aircrafts and the ATC are not efficient enough to let you do an immediate departure in between landings. I have a buddy who requested to taxi back to refuel after waiting for so long.
Permits into China usually takes 3 working days and try to depart at stipulated date, any earlier or later departures needs permission and that may take 24 hrs. Ensure appropriate crew Visas and have you crew ID. FA's without one sometimes will be treated like a passenger. The authorities are strict with security checks even to VIP guest. At certain airports, a guard is stationed near your jet on arrival and prior to departure even if it's -10 deg C!
Our handlers in China are usually TAHL, they are pretty good and all speak English. At airports where there are no handlers, they will preposition them there earlier.
Permits into China usually takes 3 working days and try to depart at stipulated date, any earlier or later departures needs permission and that may take 24 hrs. Ensure appropriate crew Visas and have you crew ID. FA's without one sometimes will be treated like a passenger. The authorities are strict with security checks even to VIP guest. At certain airports, a guard is stationed near your jet on arrival and prior to departure even if it's -10 deg C!
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| Security at your service! |
Even though every airport that we landed in China is expanding and modernizing, unfortunately the ATC and ancillary services cannot keep up with the pace of progress. So a little patience goes a long way in China when operating in China.
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