China will advance integration of civil-military airport to strengthen aviation safety and combat support capabilities, according to a joint statement from the country’s Air Force and aviation authority.

The integration includes joint maintenance of airport support facilities, joint flight safety support and joint airport management, said a circular released by People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force and General Administration of Civil Aviation (CAAC).

Lhasa Airport in Tibet and Sunan Shuofang International Airport in China’s coastal city Wuxi are the first two pilot civil-military airports to implement the integration from the second half of this year.

All the civil-military airports will conduct strengthened integration next year, according to the circular.

The country’s annual airport passenger flow in 2014 reached 831.5 million people with that in civil-military airports accounting for 6.5 percent.