The annual BOAO Forum for Asia 2024 (BFA) will be held March 26-29, 2024 in Boao, Hainan Province, China. This high-profile, high-traffic event will draw government, business, and academic leaders from around the world.

If you’re planning to operate a business jet to the forum, here’s what you need to know:

About BFA

BFA is an annual, invitation-only conference held in Boao, China, modeled on the World Economic Forum. BFA is dedicated to promoting Asian countries to achieve common development through further integration of the regional economy.

Primary Airport for BFA Attendees

Qionghai Bo’ao Airport (ZJQH) is the primary airport for attendees traveling to Boao for BFA. It was built specifically to support traffic to BFA.

The airport is approximately 20km and 25 minutes from the forum venue.

ZJQH will be open 24/7 during the forum. ZJQH is usually closed to foreign-registered aircraft and does not have CIQ. However, during BFA, the airport will temporarily open to foreign-registered aircraft and a small CIQ team will temporarily provide entry and exit services.

No Special Restrictions

There will be no special restrictions for BFA flights at ZJQH. Both Chinese Civil Aviation and the airport authorities will give priority to BFA flights.

Alternate Airports

Most BFA flights will go directly to ZJQH, but there are a small number of flights that prefer to use  Haikou Meilan International Airport (ZJHK) or Sanya Phoenix International Airport (ZJSY).

ZJHK is 120km and about 90 minutes from the forum venue while ZJSY is 180km and 140 minutes away.

Invitation Letter:

If you are attending BFA, CAAC requires all permit requests to be accompanied by a conference notice or invitation letter confirming attendance. Otherwise, CAAC will not process the permit for the flight.

If you have an invitation letter to BFA 2024, we recommend you provide it to your ground handler when making your arrangements. This way, if restrictions are imposed, your handler will already have the paperwork it needs.

If you need assistance, please contact Universal Aviation China, which will be onsite providing ground support supervision during this event.

Slots

In 2019, CAAC only assigned two slots within one hour in ZJQH. Slots are provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Parking

In 2018, there were 20 parking stands for business jets at ZJQH, including parking spots for large jets such as an Airbus or BBJ. Because parking is limited, operators attending BFA should contact BOAO to reserve parking as soon as possible.

Normal-sized business jets that are not larger than a G650 were dispatched to park at the business jet ramp, which is a 5-minute drive from the main terminal. Larger jets park next to the terminal and use the airbridge for boarding.

On departure, most of the parking spots will require a pushback and then taxied out.

VVIPs will receive preferential treatment – be prepared for delays

Several VVIP flights were visiting ZJQH in previous years, and during the operation of the VVIP flight, any other operation on the ramp was requested to stop. Non-VVIP operations had to wait until VVIP flights departed. This impacted some of the crew and passengers, adding additional costs and time.

Recommended crew hotels

• The Westin Shimei Bay Resort: 67 kilometers to airport, driving time 50 minutes.
• The Ritz-Carlton, Haikou, 100 kilometers to airport, driving time 90 minutes.

Catering

There are no in-flight caterers at ZJQH. To arrange catering, caterers located at ZJHK will send staff to ZJQH to assist. The caterer at ZJHK will provide the 2019 catering menu around two weeks before the forum.

Fuel

Jet-A fuel is available in ZJQH. Last year business jets fueled at ZJQH without issues.

Conclusion

BFA 2024 is going to be a high-traffic event, making it difficult to obtain parking and slots at ZJQH unless you plan ahead. Confirm your plans now and make sure you have an invitation letter to the conference or you will not be allowed to access ZJQH. If you need assistance, please contact Universal Aviation China, which has experience supporting foreign-registered aircraft to ZJQH and will once again be onsite providing ground support supervision during this event.