Foreign pilots are to be drafted into Chinese airlines to relieve the shortage of qualified flyers, according to a soon-to-be-launched policy made by the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) on recruiting pilots from abroad, China Daily reported.

"Overseas pilots will be employed by Chinese carriers after obtaining flight licenses in China," Rao Shaowu, director of the CAAC's Flight Standard Department, was quoted as saying.

To do that, they must pass strict exams, he said.

China's booming commercial aviation industry is taking off faster than the country can train pilots, a trend threatening future growth and hard-won advances in air safety, the paper said.

CAAC statistics show that about 11,000 pilots are employed to fly more than 770 aircraft operated by the major Chinese commercial airlines, which industry experts consider as inadequate to cope with the rocketing demand for passenger services.

The demand for pilots is likely to increase as domestic carriers expand their fleets.

Around 145 new aircraft will be delivered for operation this year in China, and the new planes alone will push aircraft numbers beyond the capacity of training schools to supply new pilots.

Industry experts estimate China needs between 1,200 and 1,600 new pilots every year since 2000, while the nation's major training schools for commercial airline pilots can provide a maximum of 600 pilots annually.

Source: Xinhua