End Sanya's de facto monopoly by airlines during the holidays

THIS YEAR when the Spring Festival holiday ended all the economy class tickets for flights from Sanya in South China's Hainan province to Harbin in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, which in previous years could normally be purchased for about 3,000 yuan ($476), had completely sold out, and the prices for the business class tickets that remained cost about 20,000 yuan. Beijing News comments:

The airlines have said they registered the price rises with the aviation authorities, and some say higher ticket prices are normal in a market economy.

That would be true if passengers had other alternatives for getting off the island.