China will open more low-altitude airspace below 1,000 meters this year in another five pilot cities in Hunan, Hubei, Inner Mongolia, amongst others, the Shanghai Securities News reported.

The airspace reform was initiated in November last year, when Changchun and Guangzhou were chosen as the first two trial cities.

The reform came into being as China aims to promote its general aviation sector, including private aircraft.

General aviation refers to the use of aircraft for purposes other than those of airlines, the military and police.

Currently China has around 1,000 planes for general aviation. But civil aviation departments estimated that the country would need 10,000-12,000 planes by 2012.

China plans to thoroughly open its low-altitude airspace across the country by 2015, according to director Li Jiaxiang of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.