The Zhitong Finance App learned that on the afternoon of March 29, Huatai Securities released a research report saying that on the afternoon of March 29, the Civil Aviation Administration held a press conference to introduce the Civil Aviation Administration's work and next considerations, general aviation reform and development in recent years, drone development in recent years, and related work carried out by the Civil Aviation Administration. In response to reporters' questions, the construction of a low-altitude flight service guarantee system, and drone airworthiness certification requirements were introduced. The Civil Aviation Administration's support for the low-altitude economy will fully stimulate industrial vitality. It is expected to expand the airspace that the low-altitude economy can fly, shorten the airworthiness certification cycle, and help micro-actors involved in the development of the low-altitude economy enjoy industrial dividends faster and better.

The main views of Huatai Securities are as follows:

Optimize the drone airworthiness certification process and reduce the airworthiness certification costs of enterprises

The press conference explained that the Civil Aviation Administration will further enhance airworthiness certification capabilities, optimize aircraft airworthiness standards, approval models and technology, strengthen the construction of drone airworthiness certification systems and capabilities, explore innovative drone airworthiness certification models, and better meet the airworthiness review requirements required for low-altitude economic development.

Previously, the airworthiness certification cycle was relatively long, but in recent years, the rise of various types of drones has further increased the complexity of the Civil Aviation Administration's airworthiness certification, leading to a further extension of the airworthiness certification cycle.

The Civil Aviation Administration has now placed special emphasis on strengthening the drone airworthiness certification system and capacity building, which is expected to shorten the airworthiness certification cycle for unmanned aircraft represented by eVTOL, or effectively reduce the time cycle and cost of aircraft host units from first flight to commercial operation, and attract more enterprises to participate in the construction of a low-altitude economy.

Increase the airspace that can be flown, strengthen the construction of security systems and promote the implementation of commercial applications

According to the press conference, the Civil Aviation Administration will comprehensively optimize the efficiency of the use of low-altitude resources based on airspace classification, increase the airspace that can be flown at low altitude; and build a low-altitude flight service guarantee system. Currently, a three-level support system for national information systems, regional information systems, and flight service stations has basically been completed, and “one-stop” approval for navigable low-altitude flights has initially been achieved. By the end of 2023, a total of 32 flight service stations had been built nationwide. 28 had passed compliance checks by regional authorities and officially incorporated into the civil aviation management system and industry management system.

The new version of airspace classification management substantially explains and optimizes the scope of low-altitude flight activities, and the construction of a service guarantee system will help improve the safety and reliability of low-altitude flight activities, which is expected to accelerate the commercial application process of aircraft in the low-altitude economy and open up market space.

Intelligence services, low-altitude surveillance, and meteorological services are the focus of security system construction

At the press conference, the Civil Aviation Administration stated that the Civil Aviation Administration will make full use of its technical expertise and continue to take various measures to continuously improve low-altitude security capabilities.

Among them, emphasis was placed on the achievements of the Civil Aviation Administration in recent years in three areas: continuously improving aviation intelligence service capabilities, improving low-altitude surveillance capabilities, and strengthening capacity building for low air weather services. Related targets such as Beidou, meteorology, air traffic control radar, and ADS-B in the industrial chain will continue to develop as the low-altitude security system is further improved.

Unmanned aerial vehicles have become mainstream in the low-altitude economy, and urban air traffic is ready to go

In recent years, the logistics and distribution business of drones in terms of application has been extended to urban business districts and communities, and airworthiness certification of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) models is also progressing steadily.

At present, the Civil Aviation Administration has approved a number of unmanned aerial vehicle test zones across the country, and stated at the press conference that it will strengthen planning, resource and business coordination, and carry out pilot demonstrations of urban air traffic focusing on the urban scene.

The Civil Aviation Administration has indicated that urban air traffic is an important part of the low-altitude economy, and manned aircraft are expected to usher in rapid development.

Risk warning

The risk of airspace opening up less than anticipated. China's low-altitude airspace reform is still progressing, but the degree of opening up of low-altitude airspace in various provinces, cities, and regions is limited by many factors such as local topography, population density, military and political attributes, and there may be a risk that the progress of low-altitude airspace development will fall short of expectations.

The risk of uncertainty in technological development. eVTOL has diverse configurations and uncertain technical routes, and there may be a risk that the development of certain configuration technology will deviate from expectations and have an uncertain impact on airworthiness certification.

Risk of price fluctuations in the upstream market. Prices of raw materials such as upstream carbon fiber and components such as batteries fluctuate, which may have an uncertain impact on the development of eVTOLs.