BEIJING, July 31  -- China's civil aviation authority will from Friday abort control measures in place for flights in the country's eastern, central and southern regions while a military exercise goes on in southeast coastal areas, it announced on Thursday.

After flight delays attributable to the controls, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said that flights in these regions will return to normal operation once the controls are removed.

The administration said that civil and military aviation authorities will enhance cooperation in mitigating flight delays next month, but it warned that the likelihood of stormy weather in August and other unspecified airspace activities may still have an impact on flights.

Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng had earlier on Thursday admitted that the ongoing military exercise had affected civil flights.

He said the defense ministry has maintained close contact with civil aviation authorities to minimize the impact.