A Chinese owned airport in NSW will increase flights with more than 28,000 planes taking off each year.
The company will increase flights at by 1,000 per cent, going from 2868 flights a year to 28,687 flights a year according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The Australian International Aviation College is training Chinese pilots for Hainan Airlines, which the Chinese government owns 8.25 per cent of.
Chinese owned Kempsey Airport (pictured) in NSW will increase the number of flights by 1000 per cent with more than 28,000 planes taking off each year
The Australian International Aviation College is training Chinese pilots for Hainan Airlines at Kempsey Airport, making it one of three schools in Australia training Chinese pilots
The college, which is training pilots at Kempsey Airport, is reportedly one of at least three schools training Chinese pilots in the country, according to the publication.
The new proposal comes with the fears Australia may face a pilot shortage.
The Chinese airlines are offering experienced Australian pilots more than $750,000 a year, according to The Australian.
‘They are talking about 737 training captains earning upwards of [$796,000] tax-free and that’s going to be difficult even for the major Australian airlines to cope with,’ president of the Australian and International Pilots Association Captain Murray Butt told the publication.
‘People have been talking about a worldwide shortage for a long time and we’ve been a little bit protected because of the number of Australians that have been overseas and have wanted to … come back.’
However, a spokesman for Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said Australian pilots would be given priority, according to Fairfax Media.
China Southern, China’s biggest airline, owns the Merredin Aerodrome in Western Australia
China Southern Airlines partially owns the hangar at Merredin but could soon own it all
A Western Australian airport is also owned by the communist government after China secretly paid $1 to the West Australian government for the 100-year lease of land.
China Southern Airlines partially owns Merredin Aerodrome, 260 kilometres east of Perth, giving it control of the runways, hangars and control tower.
China’s biggest airline may soon own the entire airport, despite recently shutting down its pilot training school because of safety concerns.