The China General Administration of Civil Aviation will suspend approval of any new airline company application before 2010 to ensure safety in the booming industry.

The administration said it would also raise the threshold of setting up new airlines after the period, China News Service reported today.

For existing airlines, the administration will control overtime work of pilots and will put old aircraft under closer scrutiny, the report added.

But the administration will continue to encourage new cargo airlines to open if they promise in the application that flights will be mainly at night and most pilots are foreigners.

New airline carriers that register or operate in western and northeastern China will gain favor from the administration and those that use home-made aircraft will also be preferred, the report said.

The administration declined to explain to Shanghai Daily if any cargo airline will be approved before 2010 if it meets the preferred criteria.

The airline logistics industry increased at an average of 16 percent annually in recent years, the report cited the official Website of the administration as saying.

However, the administration has noticed some problems such as the lack of professional technicians, limited air space resources and poor airport infrastructure, the report said.

The suspension of new airline approvals is expected to ensure that the industry is "on the right track," it added.

China pledged to invest 140 billion yuan (US$17.9 billion) between 2006 and 2010 to build new airports and upgrade older ones, said the administration in the 11th Five-Year Plan.

The nation is expected to have 190 airports by 2010, compared with 142 at the end of 2005. About 80 percent of the investment will be earmarked to expand hub airports.