Domestic air travel soars during first quarter

Air passenger trips recovered significantly in China during the first quarter of this year, with the number of domestic trips reaching roughly 90 percent of those taken before the epidemic, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on Tuesday.

In the first quarter, 129 million air passenger trips were made, rising 68.9 percent year on year. Among them, 126 million domestic air passenger trips were made, a year-on-year increase of 66.6 percent, accounting for 88.6 percent of trips taken during the same period in 2019. 

Meanwhile, 2.24 million international air passenger trips were made, a year-on-year increase of 717 percent, equivalent to 12.4 percent taken during the first quarter in 2019.Air cargo demand fluctuated during the first quarter this year, according to the administration. 

Domestically, 925,000 metric tons of cargo were transported by air, down 2 percent year-on-year, equivalent to 81.2 percent of cargo delivered during the same period in 2019. 

Internationally, 570,000 tons of cargo were flown, down 15.2 percent year-on-year, but up 5.5 percent from the same period in 2019, according to the administration.