SHANGHAI - CHINA has asked domestic airlines to cancel or postpone aircraft deliveries due in 2009 as passenger numbers fall due to the global economic slowdown.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China also urged the country's carriers to retire more older planes and reiterated it would not approve any new airlines before 2010, according to a statement on the agency's website.

'Throughout the second half of the year, the global economic gloom is having an increasingly grave impact on the development of China's civil aviation industry,' the statement dated on Tuesday said.

The regulator warned airlines to be cautious about any expansion moves.

Airlines should also let aircraft leasing agreements with foreign companies expire, ground or sell aircraft and convert passenger jets into cargo aircraft to maximise capacity, it added.

Chinese airlines will be exempted from infrastructure fees in 2009 and fees collected in the second half of 2008 will be refunded, the statement said.

Last month, China Southern Airlines, the nation's largest carrier by fleet size, said Beijing had given its parent a three billion yuan (S$5.05 million) bailout, while other airlines are also seeking government aid. -- AFP