China's aviation authorities have been told to exempt aircraft involved in anti-drought missions from some aviation fees and ensure the supply of aircraft for drought relief.

Captain Huo Qishu pilots the aircraft "Transport 7" on the mission of artificial rainfall operations in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province, Feb. 8, 2009. A couple of "Transport 7" aircraft of China's Air Force performed artificial rainfall operations in Huaibei of east China's Anhui Province, and Luoyang and Kaifeng of central China's Henan Province separately to relieve local drought on Sunday. [Xinhua]

Aviation and ground service fees, approach command fees and air route fees have been scrapped for aircraft involved in work such as cloud seeding, said an official from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) Monday.

The CAAC has also ordered water, fuel and electricity supplies to anti-drought aircraft to be expedited, the official said.

China has turned to artificial means to create rain in provinces stricken by the worst drought in decades, using rockets, artillery shells and aircraft carrying cloud-seeding equipment.

A crew member performs artificial rainfall operations on the aircraft over regions suffering from drought in central China's Henan Province, Feb. 8, 2009. A couple of "Transport 7" aircraft of China's Air Force performed artificial rainfall operations in Huaibei of east China's Anhui Province, and Luoyang and Kaifeng of central China's Henan Province separately to relieve local drought on Sunday. [Xinhua]

Two An-26 freighters successfully created moderate rainfall on Feb. 15 in Henan's northwest and Anhui's north, covering more than 100,000 square kilometers.

China's worst drought in five decades began in October and has affected 111 million mu (7.4 million hectares) of crops so far, with 4.68 million people and 2.49 million livestock having poor access to safe drinking water, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.