71.7 percent

backup plans are also required to prevent long delays in the event of mechanical problems.

“Airlines are encouraged to change to widebody airplanes on popular routes,” said Tian Zhencai, deputy director of the administration's operations and monitoring center.

Plan adjustments will be made when extreme weather occurs and the civil aviation department will coordinate with military aviation to open temporary air routes to increase air space for civil aviation, Tian said.

This year’s Spring Festival holiday runs from Feb 15 to 21. Most people return home for family reunions during the most important festival in China. In recent years, people have also taken the long holiday as a chance to travel, pushing up demand for tickets and prices.

The punctuality rate for flights in December was 88.3 percent, the best since June 2003, Tian said.

He also said that cold weather and poor visibility could affect punctuality in mid and late January.

The punctuality rate in 2017 was 71.7 percent, a drop of more than 5 percentage points compared with 2016. The main reasons for the decline were an increase in the number of flights, extreme weather and airspace activity.

The administration has set a goal for national flight punctuality of no less than 75 percent this year.

“The civil aviation industry will focus on improving quality and efficiency to enhance the flight punctuality rate,” Feng Zhenglin, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said at a conference in December.