Order of the Ministry of Transport of People's Republic of China

(No. 56, 2016)

The Provisions on the Administration of Flight Regularity has been approved at the 6th executive meeting of the Ministry of Transport on March 24, 2016. It is hereby issued and shall come into force on January 1, 2017.

Yang Chuantang

Minister, Ministry of Transport

May

20, 2016

Provisions on the Administration of Flight Regularity

Charter 1  General Provisions

Article 1      These Provisions are developed in accordance with Civil Aviation Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Law of People’s Republic of China on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers, Regulations on the Administration of Civil Airports, and other relevant laws, and administrative regulations, in order to improve flight regularity rate, effectively address flight delays, improve the quality of civil aviation services, protect the legitimate rights of consumers and maintain air transport order.

Article 2       These Provisions shall be applicable to the activities of air carriers (hereinafter referred to as domestic carriers) established in accordance with the law of the People’s Republic of China, airport management authorities, ground service agents, aviation sales agents, air traffic management entities (hereinafter referred to as ATM entities), airport public security department, aviation fuel enterprises, aviation supplies enterprises, aviation information technology enterprises, as well as any other supporting service entities in an effort to ensure the regularity of flights, delay handling, and handling of passenger complaints.

These Provisions shall also apply to activities of carriers from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan as well as foreign carriers with regard to the ensuring of flight regularity, and handling of delays and passenger complaints when carriers’

flights originate from or have a stopover within Chinese territories (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan).

These Provisions are not applicable to cargo and mail flights.

Article 3       The following terms used in these Provisions have the following meanings:

1. Carrier refers to any public air transport enterprise providing passenger, baggage, or cargo transport with civil aircraft. This includes domestic, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan carriers as well as foreign carriers.

2. Flight delay refers to the situation where a flight’s actual choke-on time is 15 minutes later than its scheduled arrival time.

3. Flight departure delay refers to the situation where a flight’s actual choke-off time is 15 minutes later than its scheduled departure time.

4. Flight cancellation refers to the situation where a flight plan has been ceased to execute due to estimated flight delay or as a result of flight delay.

5. Tarmac delay refers to the situation when, either after closing the cabin door before departure or before opening the cabin door after arrival, passengers are waiting on-board for longer time than aircraft taxiing time limits as regulated by the airport.

6. Civil aviation administrative authorities refers to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (hereinafter referred to as CAAC) and the Regional Administrations of Civil Aviation Administration of China (hereinafter referred to as CAAC Regional Administrations).

7. Large-scale flight delay refers to a situation where a certain amount of arrival and departure flights were delayed or cancelled that cause a large number of passengers to be held up in the airport within a certain period of time. The airport is the responsible authority for ascertaining large-scale flight delays according to flight traffic and airport supporting capabilities among other factors.

Article 4       CAAC is responsible for the overall oversight and administration of flight regularity, delay handling, and passenger complaints throughout the country.

CAAC Regional Administrations are responsible for the oversight and administration of flight regularity, delay handling, and passenger complaints within their respective jurisdictions.

Charter 2  Flight Regularity Support

Article 5       Carriers, airport management authorities, ATM entities, ground handling agents, and other supporting service entities shall each establish their own system to ensure flight operations as well as flight regularity.

The system should include a leading department, implementation measures, and an assessment mechanism.

Article 6       Carriers shall operate in accordance with allocated slots.

Article 7       Carriers shall improve the operational capabilities of aircraft and personnel to make full use of the instrument landing system or the equivalent precise approach and landing system. They shall also actively adopt new technologies to ensure flight safety and flight operation.

Article 8       Carriers shall reasonably arrange their capabilities and crew deployment so as to reduce flight delays due to carriers’ own reasons.

Article 9       Airport shall strengthen equipment inspection and maintenance efforts to ensure the terminal and movement area equipment are operating normally, and to reduce flight delays caused by equipment failure.

Article 10     Airport and ATM entities shall strengthen collaboration to optimize airport apron operations, improve the efficiency of ground operations, as well as provide effective monitoring of all inbound and

outbound flights.

Article 11     Airport management authorities shall, according to the relevant regulations, install and use the instrument landing system or equivalent precise approach and landing system. They shall also actively adopt new technologies to ensure flight safety and flight operation.

Article 12     Ground handling agents, carrier-operated ground handling services, and airport-managed ground handling services shall supply sufficient numbers of equipment and personnel according

to the actual needs of supporting operation.

Article 13     ATM entities shall be responsible for the strict implementation of air traffic control procedures and standards to expedite air traffic flow and ensure flight regularity.

Article 14     ATM entities shall actively promote the application of new technologies to improve operational capability and ensure flight regularity.

Article 15     ATM entities shall, in accordance with regulations, strengthen weather forecasting and monitoring capabilities to provide accurate aviation meteorological services to carriers.

Article 16     Aviation fuel, supplies, and information corporations as well as other supporting service units shall provide fuel, equipment, and information services to the best of their ability, in order to reduce delays caused by their own reasons.

Charter 3: Management of Flight Delays

Section 1  General Provisions

Article 17     Carriers shall develop and made public their General Conditions of Carriage as well as clearly state passenger services in case of departure delay and cancellation, and inform the passengers at the time of purchase.

General Conditions of Carriage of domestic carriers shall include whether compensation is provided in the event of delays. If compensation is provided, domestic carriers shall outline the conditions, standards, and method of

compensation.

Article 18     Carriers shall actively explore other means for compensation relief such as a delay insurance program, and systems for making delay insurance claims.

Article 19     Carriers who have signed an agreement for an agent to handle their ground services or sales shall outline in the agreement standards and procedures applicable in the event of a departure delay.

Article 20     Carriers and sales agents shall accurately record passenger information entries and are responsible for informing passengers of their flight status in a timely manner.

Article 21     Carriers, airport management authorities, and ground handling agents shall each develop ground handling procedures and emergency response plan for alternative flights.

Airport management authorities and ground handling agents who have reached alternative flight agreements with carriers shall provide services according to the agreement.

If the contracted alternative airport is unable to accommodate a flight and the flight requests to land at another alternative airport, that airport must, under the premise of safety, provide the services to the best of its ability,

without excuse.

Article 22     When a flight departure is delayed or cancelled, carriers, airport management authorities, ATM entities, ground handling agents, and sales agents shall increase communications and information sharing.

Carriers shall report information about their flight departure delays or the reasons of cancellations and flight status to airport management authorities, ATM entities, ground handling agents, and sales agents every 30

minutes.

ATM entities shall, according to regulations, report weather conditions, air traffic flow control, and flight departure delays and dispatch information to carriers and airport.

Airport management authorities shall, according to regulations, report flight gate information and apron information to carriers, ground handling agents, and ATM entities.

Article 23     Airports shall develop overall emergency response plans and organize drills for all concerned parties at the airports to prepare for the event of a large area flight delays.

Carriers, ground handling agents, ATM entities, and other supporting service entities shall each develop their emergency response plans to prepare for the event of a large area flight delays.

All related entities in the airport shall obey the organization and coordination of the airport management authorities to participate in drills and implement all supporting services.

Article 24     Passengers shall be well-behaved when boarding, and protect their interests in a lawful manner. They shall not break into airport restricted areas, block security check areas or boarding gates, trespass apron, taxiways, or runways, block and forcibly board or seize aircraft, damage facilities or equipment, or carry out activities that would disturb aviation operations.

Article 25     If a passenger has any of the actions in article 24 that disturb civil aviation operations, carriers, ground handling agents, airport, and any other relevant parties shall notify the police.

Airport aviation security department, upon receiving such notice, shall handle the situation lawfully and in a timely manner in order to maintain civil aviation operations.

Section 2  Passenger Service of Flight departure Delays

Article 26     Once a departure delay or cancellation is noticed, all relevant parties shall, according to their duties and responsibilities, make the following announcements:

1. Carriers shall announce the departure delay or cancellation through public information platform, official websites, call centers, short messages, telephone calls, or broadcast within 30 minutes of receiving confirmation in order to provide passengers with timely and accurate information including delay or cancellation reasons and flight status.

2. Airport shall use public platforms in the terminal to inform passengers of departure delay or cancellation information.

3. Sales agents shall promptly inform passengers of departure delay or cancellation information in accordance with the information provided by the carriers.

All parties shall reinforce coordination and communication to guarantee the accuracy and consistency of public announcements.

Passengers who disagree with the accuracy of announcements provided by carriers, airport management authorities, or sales agent may report the situation to CAAC for verification after their trip.

Article 27     In the event of a departure delay or cancellation, carriers shall, according to the general conditions of carriage and ticket use conditions, provide refund or endorsement services.

Carriers shall promptly provide written proof of a flight delay or cancellation if requested by a passenger.

Article 28     In the event of a departure delay or cancellation, carriers shall, according to the general conditions of carriage, provide passenger services.

Article 29     In the event of a departure delay or cancellation, carriers and ground handling agents shall, according to the following policies, provide food and accommodation:

1. Carriers shall provide food and accommodation for passengers in the event of departure delays or cancellations at the origin due to aircraft maintenance, flight deployment/adjustments, crew or any other reasons caused by the carriers.

2. Carriers shall assist passengers in arranging food and accommodation in the event of departure delays or cancellations at the origin due to weather, emergency situations, air traffic control, security issues, passengers, or

other non-carrier related reasons. All costs are borne by passengers.

3. Carriers shall provide food and accommodation for passengers in the event of delays or cancellations at a stopover on domestic flights regardless of the reasons.

4. Domestic carriers shall provide food and accommodation for passengers on a diverted flight regardless of the reasons.

Article 30     In the event of a departure delay or cancellation, carriers, sales agents, and ground handling agents shall give priority to persons with disabilities, senior citizens, the pregnant, unaccompanied minors, and other passengers who require special care.

Article 31     Airport shall provide medical services for passengers in the terminal building.

Section 3  Tarmac Delays

Article 32     Carriers shall develop and make public emergency response plans for tarmac delays. The plans should include delay notifications, catering services times, and the conditions for and restrictions on disembarkation.

The emergency response plans should be coordinated with airport management authorities, customs, immigration and security departments.

Article 33     In the event of a tarmac delay, carriers shall report to passengers every 30 minutes the reasons, estimated delay period, and other dynamic flight information.

If a tarmac delay is caused by either air flow control or military activities, ATM entities shall report to carriers every 30 minutes the dynamic flight information.

Article 34     In the event of a tarmac delay, carriers shall ensure the availability of lavatory facilities under the premise of safety.

If a tarmac delay exceeds 2 hours (including 2 hours), carriers shall provide food and water for passengers.

Article 35     If a tarmac flight delay exceeds 3 hours (including 3 hours) and there is no definite take-off time, carriers shall arrange for disembarkation as long as safety and security regulations are followed.

Article 36     In the event of a tarmac delay, airport management authorities and ground handling agents shall assist carriers in providing the related services.

Section 4  Large Area Flight Delays

Article 37     In the event of a large area flight delay, airport management authorities and all units operating at the airport shall together establish a coordination mechanism including procedures for sharing information, coordinating flight release, and passenger services.

Article 38     Airport management authorities shall promptly initiate and implement the large area flight delay emergency response plan together with carriers, ground handling agents, airport police department, ATM entities, and other supporting service entities.

Article 39     In the event of a large area flight delay, ATM entities shall, according to regulations, inform the related parties of the reason, estimated departure time, and any other related dynamic information.

Airport management authorities shall establish a promulgation procedure and a public platform to provide the public with real-time information about the delay and management of such a delay.

Article 40     In the event of a large area flight delay, ATM entities shall coordinate with carriers, airport management authorities, ground handling agents, to execute the flight release coordination system.

Article 41     In the event of a large area flight delay, airport management authorities shall execute the passenger services coordination system, coordinating with carriers, ground handling agents, airport aviation security departments, and other related entities to provide related services.

Airport management authorities shall assist customs, immigration, and quarantine according to in-bound and out-bound flight situations, to ensure passengers undergo inspection quickly.

If a large area flight delay occurs at night, airport management authorities shall coordinate with related parties to extend the operating hours of airport shuttle bus.

Article 42     In the event of a large area flight delay, the airport aviation security department shall increase the number of police on duty to maintain aviation operations and order.

Article 43     Airport management authorities shall establish a large area flight delay coordination mechanism plan with the local government. Airport management authorities may also request assistance from the local government if necessary.

Charter 4: Passenger Complaints Management

Article 44     In order to preserve one’s legitimate rights, passengers may file complaints with carriers, airport management authorities, airport ground handling agents, sales agents, or CAAC. Passengers can also choose to file for arbitration or civil lawsuit.

Article 45     Carriers, airport management authorities, ground handling agents, and sales agents shall establish a specialized institution or designate an individual responsible for receiving complaints. They shall also make the institution or individual's contact information such as telephone number or email address publicly available. Contact information shall also be filed with the CAAC.

CAAC shall be informed in writing within 5 days of changing the contact information of the institute or individual responsible for receiving complaints.

Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan carriers as well as foreign carriers shall be capable of handling complaints in Chinese.

Article 46     Carriers, airport management authorities, ground handling agents, sales agents, and CAAC shall respond and indicate complaint status to a passenger including the acceptance and handling of complaints within 7 days of receiving the complaints.

Domestic carriers, airport, ground handling agents, sales agents, and CAAC shall respond with substantive information within 10 days of receiving the complaints. Carriers from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan and foreign carriers

shall respond with substantive information within 20 days of receiving the complaints.

Carriers, airport management authorities, ground handling agents, and sales agents shall document the complaints and the resolution in writing and the record shall be kept for at least 2 years.

Article 47     If the carriers, airport management authorities, ground handling agents, or sales agents’ complaints management fails to comply with regulations and CAAC requests them to make rectifications, they must follow the request.

Chapter 5  Information Reporting

Article 48     Carriers shall report the general conditions of carriage to civil aviation administrative authorities for record.

Article 49     Airport management authorities shall report the overall emergency response plans for large-scale flight delays to civil aviation administrative authorities for record.

Carriers shall report the emergency response plans for tarmac delays to civil aviation administrative authorities for record.

If there is any change of the overall emergency response plans for large-scale flight delays or emergency response plans for tarmac delays, civil aviation administrative authorities shall be notified of such changes in writing within 5 days from the date of changes.

Article 50     When large-scale flight delays and tarmac delays occur, carriers, a airport management authorities, and ATM entities shall promptly report the relevant information to CAAC Regional Administrations and keep records of the handling for two years.

Article 51     Carriers, airport management authorities, ground handling agents, and ATM entities shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions of flight regularity statistics, record, report, and summarize flight operation data, and shall be responsible for the authenticity.

CAAC regularly releases information on flight regularity, and acceptance and handling of passenger complaints, and accepts social supervision.

Chapter 6  Supervision and Management

Article 52     Civil aviation administrative authorities shall supervise and inspect the implementation of flight slots to prevent carriers from operating flights not in accordance with the given flight slots and affecting flight regularity.

CAAC Regional Administrations shall promptly report important issues found in supervision and inspection to CAAC.

Article 53     When a large-scale flight delay occurs, CAAC Regional Administrations shall inspect the emergency handling work of carriers, airport management authorities, ATM entities and other entities, and report the important issues

to CAAC.

Article 54     CAAC shall develop assessment indicators for flight regularity performance and restrictive measures. For the carriers, airport management authorities, ATM entities and other entities that do not meet the requirements of assessment indicators, civil aviation administrative authorities shall take measures such as restrictions in a timely manner according to law.

Article 55     Entities and individuals engaged in flight regularity support, delay handling and passenger complaints handling shall accept and cooperate in the supervision and inspection of civil aviation administrative authorities.

Article 56     All entities or individuals shall have the right to report to civil aviation administrative authorities any illegal act in flight regularity support or delay handling within the territory of China.

Where the report is in written form and provides relevant facts and evidence, civil aviation administrative authorities shall conduct necessary investigations according to the report and keep the informant in secrecy.

Chapter 7  Legal Liability

Article 57     If a carrier violates Article 6 of these Provisions and affects flight regularity, civil aviation administrative authorities shall cancel its slots and impose a fine of not more than 30,000 yuan.

Article 58     If a carrier has one of the following acts, civil aviation administrative authorities shall order it to make corrections within a time limit. If it fails to make corrections within the time limit, it shall be given a warning and fined less than 30,000 yuan:

(1) Carrier violates the first paragraph of Article 17 of these Provisions, and fails to develop or publish the general conditions of carriage, or the content does not meet the requirements;

(2) Carrier violates the second paragraph of Article 17 of these Provisions, and the compensation for flight delays are not specified in the general conditions of carriage;

(3) Carrier violates the provisions of Article 19 of these Provisions, and the contents of the agency agreement do not meet the requirements;

(4) Carrier violates the first paragraph of Article 21 of these Provisions, and fails to develop working procedures or contingency plans for the ground handling agents of the alternate flights;

(5) Carrier violates the second paragraph of Article 23 of these Provisions, and fails to develop its contingency plan for large-scale flight delays;

(6) Carrier violates the first paragraph of Article 32 of these Provisions, and fails to develop or publish the contingency plan for tarmac delays or the content of the plan does not meet the requirements;

(7) Carrier violates the first paragraph of Article 45 of these Provisions, fails to set up a special agency or designate a dedicated person to accept complaints as required, fails to make public the telephone or email address for

complaints in China, or fails to report the information on complaint acceptance agency, the person in charge of complaint, telephone number for complaint handling, and the email address to civil aviation administrative authorities

for record as required;

(8) Carrier violates the second paragraph of Article 45 of these Provisions, and fails to notify civil aviation administrative authorities of the change of complaint acceptance agency, complaint accepting personnel and contact

information within the prescribed time as required;

(9) Carrier violates the third paragraph of Article 45 of these Provisions, and carriers in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions and foreign carriers are not capable of accepting Chinese complaints or refuse to accept Chinese

complaints; or 

(10) Carrier violates the relevant provisions of Chapter 5 of these Provisions and fails to report relevant information as required.

Article 59     If a carrier has one of the following acts, civil aviation administrative authorities shall give a warning and impose a fine of 10,000 yuan; for issues of serious nature, a fine of 20,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan shall be imposed:

(1) Violating Article 12 of these Provisions, failing to equip operational support equipment or install support personnel according to actual needs, and affecting flight regularity;

(2) Violating the first paragraph of Article 17 of these Provisions and failing to clearly inform passengers of the general conditions of carriage when they book flights;

(3) Violating Article 20 of these Provisions and not promptly notifying passengers of flight information;

(4) Violating the second paragraph of Article 22 of these Provisions and failing to publish information as required;

(5) Violating the third paragraph of Article 23 of these Provisions and failing to comply with the coordination of airport management authorities and participate in the exercises;

(6) Violating the first paragraph of Article 25 of these Provisions and failing to report to the police in time, affecting the order of civil aviation transport operation;

(7) Violating the first paragraph of Article 46 of these Provisions and failing to deal with passenger complaints within the prescribed time limit as required;

(8) Violating the second paragraph of Article 46 of these Provisions and failing to make a substantive reply to the passenger's complaint within the prescribed time limit as required; or

(9) Violating the third paragraph of Article 46 of these Provisions and failing to keep the records of complaints as required.

Article 60     If a carrier has one of the following acts, CAAC Regional Administrations shall, in accordance with Article 75 of the Regulations on the Administration of Civil Airports, give the following penalties:

(1) If carrier violates the first paragraph (1) of Article 26 of these Provisions and fails to notify passengers of delay or cancellation of flight departure, it shall be fined 20,000 yuan to 40,000 yuan;

(2) If carrier violates the first paragraph of Article 27 of these Provisions and fails to refund and rebook tickets for passengers, it shall be fined 40,000 yuan to 60,000 yuan;

(3) If carrier violates the second paragraph of Article 27 of these Provisions and fails to issue a written certification to passengers, it shall be fined 40,000 yuan to 60,000 yuan;

(4) If carrier violates Article 29 of these Provisions and fails to provide accommodation and food services to passengers in accordance with these Provisions, it shall be fined 40,000 yuan to 60,000 yuan;

(5) If carrier violates Article 30 of these Provisions and fails to provide services for passengers who need special care according to these Provisions, it shall be fined 40,000 yuan to 60,000 yuan;

(6) If carrier violates the first paragraph of Article 33 of these Provisions and fails to notify passengers in time, it shall be fined 20,000 yuan to 40,000 yuan;

(7) If carrier violates the first paragraph of Article 34 of these Provisions and fails to ensure the washing facilities in normal use in accordance with these Provisions, it shall be fined 20,000 yuan;

(8) If carrier violates the second paragraph of Article 34 of these Provisions and fails to provide drinking water and food as required, it shall be fined 20,000 yuan;

(9) If carrier violates Article 35 of these Provisions and fails to arrange passengers to disembark the aircraft and wait according to these Provisions, it shall be fined not less than 80,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan.

Article 61     If an aviation sales agent has one of the following acts, civil aviation administrative authorities shall order it to make corrections within a time limit. If it fails to make corrections within the time limit, it shall be given a warning and fined less than 30,000 yuan:

(1) Violating the first paragraph of Article 45 of these Provisions, failing to set up a special agency or designating a dedicated person to handle complaints as required, failing to publicize the telephone or email address for complaints in China, or failing to report the complaint acceptance agency, the person in charge of complaints, the telephone and email for complaints handling to civil aviation administrative authorities for records as required; or

(2) Violating the second paragraph of Article 45 of these Provisions and failing to notify civil aviation administrative authorities of the changes in complaint acceptance agency, complaint acceptance personnel and contact information within the prescribed time limit.

Article 62     If an aviation sales agent has one of the following acts, civil aviation administrative authorities shall give a warning and impose a fine of not more than 10,000 yuan; for issues of serious nature, a fine of 20,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan shall be imposed:

(1) Violating Article 20 of these Provisions and failing to notify passengers of flight information in a timely manner;

(2) Violating the first paragraph (3) of Article 26 of these Provisions and failing to notify passengers of the delay or cancellation of flight departure notified by carrier;

(3) Violating the first paragraph of Article 46 of these Provisions and failing to deal with passenger complaints within the prescribed time limit as required;

(4) Violating the second paragraph of Article 46 of these Provisions and failing to make a substantive reply to the passenger's complaint within the prescribed time limit as required; or

(5) Violating the third paragraph of Article 46 of these Provisions and failing to keep the records of complaints as required.

Article 63     If an airport management authority has one of the following acts, civil aviation administrative authorities shall order it to make corrections within a time limit. If it fails to make corrections within the time limit, it shall be

given a warning and imposed a fine less than 30,000 yuan:

(1) Violating the first paragraph of Article 21 of these Provisions and failing to develop the working procedures or emergency plan of the ground service support for alternate flights;

(2) Violating the first paragraph of Article 23 of these Provisions and failing to formulate an overall emergency plan for large-scale flight delays or failing to regularly organize exercises;

(3) Violating the second paragraph of Article 39 of these Provisions, failing to establish an information release mechanism or a publicity platform for large-scale flight delay, or failing to announce the delay or handling to the public as required;

(4) Violating Article 43 of these Provisions and failing to establish a joint response mechanism for large-scale flight delays with local governments in accordance with regulations;

(5) Violating the first paragraph of Article 45 of these Provisions, failing to set up a special agency or designate a dedicated person to handle complaints as required, failing to publicize the complaint-handling telephone or email address in China, or failing to file the information on complaint acceptance agency, the persons in charge, the telephone and the email address for complaints handling to civil aviation administrative authorities for record as required;

(6) Violating the second paragraph of Article 45 of these Provisions and failing to notify civil aviation administrative authorities of the changes of complaint acceptance agency, complaint accepting personnel and contact information within the prescribed time limit; or

(7) Violating the relevant provisions of Chapter 5 of these Provisions and failing to report relevant information as required.

Article 64     If an airport management authority has one of the following acts, civil aviation administrative authorities shall give a warning and impose a fine less than 10,000 yuan; for issues of serious

nature, a fine of 20,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan shall be imposed:

(1) Violating Article 9 of these Provisions and failing to inspect or maintain facilities and equipment as required which leads to facility and equipment failure and causes flight delays;

(2) Violating Article 10 of these Provisions and failing to effectively monitor flight operations as required which leads to low efficiency of ground operation and affects flight regularity;

(3) Violating Article 11 of these Provisions and failing to install or use instrument landing system or equivalent precision approach system or landing guidance system as required which affects flight regularity;

(4) Violating Article 12 of these Provisions and failing to provide sufficient relevant facilities and equipment or support personnel according to actual needs which affects flight regularity;

(5) Violating the second paragraph of Article 21 of these Provisions and failing to offer service for alternate flights in accordance with the support agreement;

(6) Violating the third paragraph of Article 21 of these Provisions and failing to actively create conditions in accordance with relevant regulations and provide support for alternate flights or finding an excuse to refuse

providing support;

(7) Violating the fourth paragraph of Article 22 of these Provisions and failing to notify relevant information as required;

(8) Violating the first paragraph of Article 25 of these Provisions and failing to report to police in time which affects the order of civil aviation transport;

(9) Violating Article 36 of these Provisions and failing to assist carrier in offering service during the tarmac delays;

(10) Violating Article 38 of these Provisions and failing to promptly initiate overall emergency plan for large-scale flight delays which causes serious consequences;

(11) Violating the first paragraph of Article 46 of these Provisions and failing to deal with passenger complaints within the prescribed time limit as required;

(12) Violating the second paragraph of Article 46 of these Provisions and failing to make a substantive reply to passenger's complaints within the prescribed time limit as required; or

(13) Violating the third paragraph of Article 46 of these Provisions and failing to retain the records of complaints as required.

Article 65     If an airport management authority has one of the following acts, CAAC Regional Administrations shall, in accordance with the provisions of Article 75 of the Regulations on the Administration of

Civil Airports, give the following penalties:

(1) If the airport management authority violates the first paragraph (2) of Article 26 of these Provisions and fails to notify passengers of the delay or cancelation of the flight, it shall be imposed a fine of 20,000 yuan to 40,000

yuan;

(2) If the airport management authority violates Article 31 of these Provisions and fails to provide medical services to passengers in the terminal building, it shall be fined 40,000 yuan to 60,000 yuan; or

(3) If the airport management authority violates Article 41 of these Provisions and fails to provide relevant service to passengers as required, it shall be fined 40,000 yuan to 60,000 yuan.

Article 66     If a ground handling agent has one of the following acts, civil aviation administrative authorities shall order it to make corrections within a time limit. If it fails to make corrections within the time limit, it shall be given a warning and fined less than 30,000 yuan:

(1) Violating the first paragraph of Article 21 of these Provisions and failing to develop the working procedures or emergency plans of ground service support for alternate flights;

(2) Violating the second paragraph of Article 23 of these Provisions and failing to develop an emergency plan for large-scale flight delays;

(3) Violating the first paragraph of Article 45 of these Provisions and failing to set up a special agency or designate dedicated person to handle complaints as required, failing to publicize the telephone or email address of complaints handling in China as required, or failing to report complaint-handling agency, responsible person, telephone number and email address to civil aviation administrative authorities for record;

(4) Violating the second paragraph of Article 45 of these Provisions and failing to notify civil aviation administrative authorities of the changes of complaint-handling agency, personnel and contact information within the prescribed time as required; or 

(5) Violating the relevant provisions of Chapter 5 of these Provisions and failing to report relevant information as required.

Article 67     If a ground handling agent has one of the following acts, civil aviation administrative authorities shall give a warning and impose a fine less than 10,000 yuan; for issues of serious nature, a fine of 20,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan shall be imposed:

(1) Violating Article 12 of these Provisions and failing to provide sufficient relevant facilities and equipment or support staff according to actual needs, which affects flight regularity;

(2) Violating Article 19 of these Provisions, failing to sign ground handling agent agreement as required or the content of the agreement does not meet the requirements;

(3) Violating the third paragraph of Article 23 of these Provisions, failing to comply with the airport management authorities to organize and coordinate to participate in the exercises;

(4) Violating the first paragraph of Article 25 of these Provisions and failing to report to police in time which affects the order of civil aviation transport;

(5) Violating Article 36 of these Provisions and failing to assist the carrier in providing service during the tarmac delays;

(6) Violating the first paragraph of Article 46 of these Provisions and failing to deal with passenger complaints within the prescribed time limit as required;

(7) Violating the second paragraph of Article 46 of these Provisions and failing to make a substantive reply to the passenger's complaint within the prescribed time limit as required; or

(8) Violating the third paragraph of Article 46 of these Provisions and failing to retain the records of complaints as required.

Article 68     If a service support entity such as an aviation fuel company, an aviation equipment company or an aviation information company violates the second paragraph of Article 23 of these Provisions and fails to develop an emergency plan for large-scale flight delays, civil aviation administrative authorities shall order it to make corrections within a time limit. If it fails to make corrections within the time limit, it shall be given a warning and fined less than 30,000 yuan.

For service support entities such as aviation fuel companies, aviation equipment companies, and aviation information enterprises who violate Article 16 or third paragraph of Article 23 of these Provisions, affect flight regularity due to their own reasons, or fail to participate in exercises organized by airport management authorities against these Provisions, civil aviation administrative authorities shall give a warning and impose a fine less than 30,000 yuan.

Article 69     If an ATM entity has one of the following acts, civil aviation administrative authorities shall order it to make corrections within a time limit. If it fails to make corrections within the time limit, it shall give a warning and impose a fine of not more than 30,000 yuan:

(1) Violating the second paragraph of Article 23 of these Provisions and failing to develop an emergency plan for large-scale flight delays; or

(2) Violating the relevant articles of Chapter 5 of these Provisions and failing to report relevant information as required.

Article 70     If an ATM entity has one of the following acts, civil aviation administrative authorities shall give a warning and impose a fine less than 10,000 yuan; for issues of serious nature, it shall be fined 20,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan:

(1) Violating Article 10 of these Provisions, failing to effectively monitor flight operations as required, and having a low-efficiency ground operation which affects flight regularity;

(2) Violating Article 13 of these Provisions and failing to strictly implement the procedures or standards for ATM entities which affect flight regularity;

(3) Violating Article 15 of these Provisions and failing to provide aviation weather services to carrier as required which affects flight regularity;

(4) Violating the third paragraph of Article 22 of these Provisions and failing to notify certain party of relevant information as required which affects flight regularity;

(5) Violating the third paragraph of Article 23 of these Provisions and failing to participate in exercises organized by airport management authorities;

(6) Violating the second paragraph of Article 33 of these Provisions and failing to notify carrier of flight information as required;

(7) Violating the first paragraph of Article 39 of these Provisions and failing to notify relevant entities of flight information as required; or 

(8) Violating Article 40 of these Provisions and failing to activate flight clearance coordination mechanism as required.

Article 71     If a passenger violates Article 24 of these Provisions and disturbs the order of civil aviation transport, civil aviation security departments shall handle it according to law.

Article 72     Entities and individuals engagedin flight regularity support, delay and complaints handling who violate Article 55 of these Provisions and refuse to accept or cooperate with supervision and inspection of civil aviation administrative authorities shall be given a warning by civil aviation administrative authorities. For issues of serious nature, a fine less than 30,000 yuan shall be imposed. 

Article 73     If any staff member of state departments violates these Provisions and has one of the following acts, relevant department shall give them punishment according to law:

(1) Failing to perform supervision and management duties according to law;

(2) Failing to implement administrative punishment according to law; or

(3) Other acts including abuse of power and dereliction of duty.

Chapter 8  Supplementary Provisions

Article 74     The term "day" as used in these Provisions refers to working day, excluding statutory holidays.

Article 75     These Provisions shall come into force on January 1, 2017.