China planes fly Olympic 'Bypass' air route

BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhua) -- China carriers to Europe started flying the new B208 air route on Thursday, a flight plan designed specifically to reduce air traffic congestion during the Beijing Olympics.

"We call this route the Olympic Bypass," said Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). "It will alleviate air traffic delays and congestion, as flights from Europe to Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong will no longer have to be channeled through Beijing. This is especially critical with the Olympics in August."

"The Olympic Bypass is the latest in a series of major permanent improvements to China's air traffic management infrastructure."

In 2006, China approved the IATA-1 route, cutting flight times between Europe and China by 30 minutes per round trip.

The new B208 route expects 475 flights a week. It was expected to save 60 nautical miles or 111 kilometers per flight. The fuel saved annually would be 26,000 tons, while carbon dioxide emission cut would be 82,672 tons.