China's air passenger volume steadily recovers

China’s aviation regulator said on Wednesday that daily transported air passenger numbers rose 7.9 percent this month, as of April 21, from March, about one-third of the level of the same period last year.

As the novel coronavirus epidemic wanes and some cities lift transport restrictions, China’s air traffic has been steadily recovering since late February. Daily air passenger numbers hit 458,300 in March, surging 69.8 percent over February, said Jin Junhao, an official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Air traffic also rebounded in April. As of Tuesday, daily passenger numbers had risen to 494,400, up 7.9 percent from March and about one-third of the level of the same period last year. The number of flights had jumped to 6,586 per day, exceeding 40 percent of the volume of the same period a year ago.

The CAAC said it had almost doubled the number of weekly cargo flights to 1,989 between April 20-26, from 1,014 flights before the epidemic struck. Of the 1,989 flights, 939 had been converted from civil flights.