China adjusts air routes linking Xinjiang

China's Air Traffic Management Bureau has opened up more air passages at the Urumqi airport in northwest China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region.

It is the biggest adjustment in two decades in the region.

The passages, an important air channel linking Europe and Asia, will separately harbor arrival and departure flights.

Head of the airspace management office at the ATMB Zhu Xiaoying says it is a successful step forward and they are planning more such routes.

"There was originally only one air passage for planes to and from Xinjiang, resulting in several flight conflicts. If the number of flights rises, the situation will become worse. So after the adjustment, we have added two air routes to the northern region. We also plan to establish two more in the southern region."

The airspace adjustment is expected to increase en-route capacity, flight safety and punctuality.

The total length for civil airlines passing through Xinjiang has now exceeded 3-thousand kilometers.