Call for punctuality

The country's flight punctuality will improve in the next few years, an official said on Friday.

Li Jiaxiang, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said that airlines were responsible for 40 percent of the flight delays last year, when only 77 percent of flights were on time.

Air traffic congestion caused 27 percent of the flight delays, he said, adding that extreme weather and airport remodeling and expansions also contributed to the drop in flight punctuality, he said.