CAAC Releases Report: 2.177 Million Registered UAVs and 26.667 Million Cumulative Annual Flight Hours

On May 15, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) released the 2024 Statistical Bulletin on Civil Aviation Development, outlining China’s aviation progress across 12 areas, including transport aviation, general aviation and low-altitude economy, operational efficiency and economic performance, aviation safety and service quality, and education and technological innovation. Key data on general aviation and low-altitude economy are summarized below:

1. General Aviation Enterprises
   By the end of 2024, 760 traditional general aviation enterprises held valid General Aviation Business Licenses, marking a net increase of 70 from the previous year. Regional distribution included: North China (140), Northeast China (48), East China (222), South Central China (161), Southwest China (125), Northwest China (37), and Xinjiang (27).
2. General Aviation Fleet Size
   The total registered general aviation aircraft reached 3,232 by the end of 2024, including 1,252 training aircraft.
3. General Aviation Airports
   By the end of 2024, China had 475 registered general aviation airports, a net increase of 26 from the previous year, with 172 classified as Category A airports.
4. General Aviation Flight Hours
   In 2024, general aviation completed 1.341 million flight hours, a year-on-year decrease of 2.2%. Breakdown: passenger transport (24,000 hours, -12.5%), human-cargo transport (178,000 hours, +22.6%), other operations (641,000 hours, -8.0%), and non-commercial operations (498,000 hours, -0.6%).

5. Civil Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Operations

   • Licensed Operators: 19,979 entities held UAV Operation Certificates by the end of 2024, distributed as follows: North China (3,000), Northeast China (2,399), East China (5,397), South Central China (4,218), Southwest China (2,983), Northwest China (1,561), and Xinjiang (421).
   • Registered Users: 1.619 million UAV owners, including 1.521 million individual users and 98,000 institutional users.
   • Registered UAVs: 2.177 million units, a 98.5% increase from the previous year.
   • Licensed Pilots: 273,300 UAV pilot licenses issued, with 247,300 valid licenses.
   • Flight Activity: Annual cumulative UAV flight hours reached 26.667 million, a 15.4% year-on-year growth.