China will authorize new flight paths to increase domestic and international flights ahead of the 2008 Olympics to ease congestion and reduce delays, Houston Chronicle reported, citing China Daily. The proposed new routes include those for flights between the capital Beijing and Japan, South Korea and Mongolia. The General Administration of Civil Aviation (CAAC) will also open new domestic flight paths between Shanghai and Hong Kong, and from Beijing to Shanghai and Guangzhou. The report cited Gunther Matschnigg, the International Air Transport Association's chief of safety and operations, as saying air traffic in China is expected to grow at least 50 percent by 2008, and an additional 15 percent during the Olympic games.