China’s aviation market on an upward trend with daily flights reaching 12,000 thanks to government support

A plane flies over Ezhou Huahu Airport in Ezhou, central China’s Hubei Province, Dec. 29, 2021. Photo: Xinhua

China’s aviation market is enjoying a strong recovery, with the number of flights in July exceeding 10,000 a day, China’s civil aviation regulator said, noting that on July 8 and 10, the country recorded more of 12,000 flights, recovering to 64.5% of the pre-epidemic period. levels.

China’s aviation sector facilitated 118 million passenger trips in the first half of this year, down 51.9 percent from the same period last year, and back to 36, 7% for the same period of 2019.

The aviation sector has shown a V-shaped recovery, Wu Shijie, an official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said at a press conference on Tuesday.

China’s domestic passenger market has shown green sprouts of recovery, CAAC officials said on Tuesday, citing traffic data over the past few months, of which April’s traffic volume was down 14.8% from in the same period of 2019, rising to 46.2. % in June.

The recovery dynamic is also clear for freight. In April, freight transport volume was restored to 69.8% for the same period in 2019, rising to 89.7% in June. Outbound cargo activity in June rose 1.8% from the same period last year.

During the week of July 4-10, daily passenger trips reached 1.2 million, with the number of weekly flights reaching 71,000, a monthly increase of 12%, according to data from information provider VariFlight. sent to the Global Times.

China’s aviation industry endured a tough first half, with the number of daily flights hitting a low of 2,967 in the first six months of 2022, up just 17.8 percent from the same period in 2019.

To help the industry, the government has provided targeted financial support, injecting 3 billion yuan ($445 million) each for Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines, 2 billion yuan for Capital Airport Holdings Ltd, and pre-allocating $3.29 billion. yuan into the central subsidy funds for the first phase of domestic passenger flights.

In terms of financial credit, based on the establishment of emergency loans worth 65.6 billion yuan for airlines and airports, the CAAC also issued additional emergency loans to ‘worth 150 billion yuan for the airlines.

The regulator said it would continue to tighten macro controls, such as improving slot enforcement and flight approvals to help airlines out of trouble.

Airbus predicts that China could be the busiest aviation market over the next few years given strong market growth, the European aircraft maker said Tuesday in a global market forecast for 2022, highlighting the potential of the Chinese market.

China will need an additional 8,420 new aircraft over the next 20 years to 2041, the company said, up from a forecast of 8,220 made last year.

Globally, it predicts demand for 39,490 new passenger and freighter aircraft over the next 20 years.

Airbus said strong demand for air cargo was supported by growing global trade, as international trade is expected to double over the next two decades.

Although there have been some setbacks, passenger traffic is expected to grow 3.6% from 2019 to 2041, the company said, and it expects airlines to order more planes over the next 20 years. next few years than expected to replace less fuel-efficient models.

The manufacturer said air traffic demand is returning strongly as the world adapts to COVID-19, and traffic will return to 2019 levels between 2023 and 2025. Asia-Pacific, China, Europe and the United States continues to be the main drivers of growth and replacement. , it said.

world times