The CAAC aims to sharpen the competitive edge of China's air transport industry in the next two decades, and the following five years are believed to be very important to help fulfill the goal.

According to the CAAC, it plans to use the next 20 years to build China into a "civil aviation power" and develop a "safe, efficient and green" air transport industry.

The administration's targets include 1.5 billion passenger trips a year by 2030, which will make China the largest air transport market in the world, good safety record and service, and punctuality of scheduled flights to reach 85 percent or even better.

However, these ambitious goals will need more supportive measures, Li said.

The proposal for the 12th Five-Year Plan released on Wednesday includes measures to "optimize the layout of airports" and "reform of the airspace management system" in the next five years.

The country's civil aviation sector is facing increasing competition from the fast-sprawling high-speed rail network, which excels when it comes to punctuality and geological proximity to city centers.

China has planned to build a 13,000-km high-speed railway network by 2012.

Industry insiders feel that improving on flight punctuality, instead of cutting prices, will be the key to gain a foothold in the transport market.