May 15, Shanghai - According to China civil aviation authority (CAAC), airlines has been reopening routes and resuming flights since the country lifted its Covid-19 controls, and now offers passenger flights to 59 countries, equivalent to 82 percent of the pre-epidemic level, according to new figures released by the industry regulator today.

From April 10 to 16, China operated 2,242 international flights, equivalent to over 29 percent of the pre-pandemic level and 4.7 times the level at the beginning of 2023, said Xu Qing, deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China’s transport department at a briefing held today. This number is in line with the projection of travel industry where Q1 and Q2 2023 international flights is resumed about 20%.

The top five countries for flights to China were Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia, indicating a significant growth rate in neighboring markets, Xu noted.

The CAAC will continue to approve applications from Chinese and foreign airlines to resume and start new international flights, she added, and it will also help in solving difficulties and problems in the process.

Chinese airlines logged nearly 129 million passenger trips in the first quarter of the year, up 69 percent from a year ago and equivalent to 80 percent of the level in the first quarter of 2019, according to the CAAC data. Out of this number, 126 million were domestic flights, up 67 percent from a year ago and equivalent to 89 percent of the level in 2019; international trips stood at 2.2 million in the first quarter, up 717 percent from a year ago and equivalent to 12.4 percent of the level in 2019, the data showed. 

Source: CAAC, Yicai