China will introduce a permanent restricted airspace zone around Beijing on 20 September, covering an area roughly the size of Italy after a light aircraft crashed into the CITIC Tower in June. The zone will stretch across the capital region and limit access to commercial airline services, approved business flights and emergency operations, while imposing tighter tracking, clearance and reporting requirements on permitted aircraft.
The new airspace will extend beyond Beijing into Tianjin, much of Hebei and parts of Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shandong, Liaoning and the Bohai Sea. It is one of the largest permanent capital-region flight restrictions in the world and will affect a dense network of airports, airfields and general aviation operators around northern China.
Most flights will be barred from the ground to unlimited altitude, although military, customs, police and fire-rescue aircraft remain exempt. The move follows the June crash in which a light aircraft hit Beijing’s tallest building, killing the pilot and injuring 13 people. Beijing already maintained a smaller permanent no-fly zone over the political core of the city.