Small airports are expected to receive government subsidies after being reclassified as public infrastructure under a new regulation, reported China Daily. The regulation stipulates that governments at all levels must take necessary measures to support airports from 1 July.

The regulation is expected to benefit small airports because large ones are profitable. China has 103 airports that serve fewer than 1m passengers a year, and an estimated 91 per cent of them are losing money.

Wang Jian, secretary-general of China Civil Airport Association, said many regional airports survive on subsidies from local governments. The Civil Aviation Administration of China also began subsidising small airports last year, but the amount is limited.

A number of airports that did not secure local government funding have been closed.

“Small airports need local governments’ support because they are built more out of a strategic need than the need for profit,” Wang said.