Chinese airlines see sound rise of passengers in May

Chinese airlines’ passenger turnover is still making a sound recovery as major domestic carriers reported positive year- on- year growth in May, although there was a slight decline from the previous month. The figures show that domestic passenger travel continues to heat up.

Air China said late on Tuesday that its passenger turnover in May increased by 113.1 percent year- on- year, although the month- on- month number showed a slight decline. Shanghai- based China Eastern Airlines said its passenger turnover in May increased by 126.2 percent from the same period last year.

Passenger flows showed a fast rebound after this year’s Spring Festival, and the domestic civil aviation market is picking up significantly.

The three- day Dragon Boat Festival holidays, celebrated from Saturday to Monday, also showed encouraging results.

The top aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Administration of China ( CAAC), said on Friday that the scale of passenger travel remained the same as last month, but it was equivalent to 93.6 percent of the same period in 2019.

Affected by resurgences of the COVID- 19 in some places in China, the recovery momentum of civil aviation dropped slightly from the previous month, “but it was still at a relatively high level of recovery,” said Zhu Tao, an official of the CAAC.

Compared with passenger flights, cargo transport also remained robust in recent months, as more carriers embraced the cargo business.

Air China data showed that cargo transport in May was up nearly 30 percent from the same period last year, a trend shared by other carriers. China Eastern Airlines reported its cargo transport was up 61 percent year- on- year.

Market watchers said that the development of e- commerce and the express delivery industry in recent years has played a significant role in driving the growth of air cargo.