Civil Aviation Administration of China - History

History

CAAC was formed on November 2, 1949, shortly after the founding of the People's Republic of China, to manage all non-military aviation in the country, as well as provide general and commercial flight service (similar to Aeroflot in the Soviet Union). It was initially managed by the People's Liberation Army Air Force.

In 1963, China departed from its policies of Marxist self-sufficiency with a purchase of six Vickers Viscount aircraft from Great Britain, followed in 1971 with four Hawker Siddeley Trident aircraft from Pakistan International Airlines. In August 1971 the airline purchased six Trident 2E's directly from Hawker Siddeley. The country also placed provisional orders for three Concorde aircraft. With the 1972 Nixon visit to China the country ordered 10 Boeing 707 jets. In December 1973 it took the unprecedented step of borrowing £40 million from Western banks to fund the purchase of 15 additional Trident jets. Russian built Ilyushin Il-62 aircraft were used on long range routes during the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1980 the airline was transferred to the direct control of the State Council.

In 1987 the airline division of CAAC was divided up into a number of airlines, each named after the region of China where it had its hub. Since then, CAAC acts solely as a government agency and no longer provides commercial flight service.

In March 2008, the agency changed its name to Civil Aviation Administration of China (中国民用航空局) and became a subsidiary of the newly created Ministry of Transport.