Aircraft purchases grounded

The government yesterday asked airlines to suspend purchase of new planes from foreign manufacturers in order to cut operation costs and maintain a balance between demand and supply.

The global financial crisis has led to a drop in the number of domestic and overseas travelers and largely reduced the need for new aircraft and causing a loss to the aviation industry.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said it "encourages" airlines to cancel or defer taking delivery of new planes next year, and asked them to make best use of their existing fleets of more than 2,000 planes.