China's international flights keep rebounding

The number of international flights has grown significantly since COVID-19 management measures were changed last month, as frequency begins to return to pre-pandemic levels, data from the national civil aviation regulator showed on Thursday.

As of last week, China had resumed scheduled passenger flights to 58 countries. Some 795 international flights operated by 98 domestic and international airline companies departed between Feb 2 and Feb 12, increasing by 65 percent compared with the number between Jan 2 and Jan 8 — the week before the changes to COVID-19 management, according to Shang Kejia, deputy director of the Department of Transport at the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

More than 70 percent of the increased flights are between China and six countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Thailand, Cambodia, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. There were 226 flights to those destinations last week.

International passenger flights have returned to 9 percent of pre-pandemic levels, among which 62 percent were operated by Chinese companies, she said.

With the gradual recovery of international business travel, tourism and overseas study, airlines will gradually adjust flights, especially foreign airlines and international flights are expected to increase, Shang said.