China's international flights increase

The volume of international flights in China has recovered to more than 70 percent of the number before the epidemic, and China's civil aviation regulator will continue to promote the recovery of international flights.

Xu Qing, deputy director of the transportation department of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said a total of 10,986 international passenger flights operated last week (May 6 to May 12), about 73.1 percent of the volume before the epidemic.

"These flights connect China with 70 countries. Among those, it includes five newly added countries compared to pre-pandemic times: Kuwait, Serbia, Tanzania, Luxembourg and Papua New Guinea," she said.

She also noted that the number of passenger flights between China and countries involving in the Belt and Road Initiative has been restored to 8,106 flights per week based on the data from last week, approximately 76.6 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

Recently, many Chinese airline companies open or plan to open or resume international routes. For instance, Air China launched a Beijing-Madrid-Sao Paulo route on April 27, operating twice a week. China Southern Airlines commenced flights from Shenzhen to Mexico City twice weekly starting on May 11. Air China plans to commence Beijing-Madrid-Havana flights twice weekly starting on Friday. Hainan Airlines intends to start Shenzhen-Budapest flights twice weekly from June 21, while China Southern Airlines plans to operate Guangzhou-Budapest flights four times a week starting June 27.

Last month, the number of international passenger trips was nearly 5.1 million, about 83.8 percent of the same period in 2019. It was the third month that the monthly number of international passenger trips reaching more than 80 percent of the level in 2019, said Li Yong, deputy director of the administration's safety office.

The administration will guide all airlines to continue increasing capacity and add more flight routes between China and countries involved in the BRI to meet travelers' needs and serve national strategies, Xu said.