Chinese airlines carried 34 percent more international passengers in the first quarter of this year, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said on Sunday, highlighting an expanding international network driven by demand.A Chinese expert said that the growth showed the fast recovery of the Chinese aviation industry, and the efforts of China are pushing further personnel exchanges, triggered by favorable policies released by the Chinese government.A total of 18.925 million international passengers were carried by Chinese airlines in the first quarter, an increase of 34 percent year-on-year and 4.5 percent over the same period in 2019, Shang Kejia, an official of the CAAC, said at the agency's monthly press conference. Passenger travel from China to Africa grew 241 percent, followed by Central Asia at 233 percent and West Asia at 91 percent. There are now 28 Chinese airlines and 100 foreign airlines operating international passenger routes in China, with flights to 78 countries in total, a net increase of four countries compared with 2019. "The international route network continued to expand in the first quarter of this year, and the number of international flights and passengers further increased," Shang said. The data show a rapid recovery and structural optimization of the international aviation market in China, for China's international aviation market has transformed from restorative growth to structural upgrading, Luo Chengtao, a chief analyst of industry information provider VariFlight, told the Global Times on Sunday.There has been a fast recovery of Chinese airlines in the global network, which shows the resilience of the industry, Lin Zhijie, an independent market watcher, said on Sunday.China has moved forward with an unprecedented expansion of its unilateral visa-free policy, which has been regarded as a key testament to China's determination to further integrate itself into the global economy.Now, the policy allows ordinary passport holders from 38 countries to visit China visa-free for up to 30 days. Last year, the number of foreign tourist trips reached 26.94 million, a year-on-year increase of 96 percent. In the first quarter of this year, the number of inbound foreign tourist trips reached 9.215 million, a year-on-year increase of 40.2 percent, Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Sheng Qiuping told reporters at the press conference on Sunday.In terms of flight volume, Chinese and foreign airlines operated an average of 6,395 international passenger flights per week, which was 83.9 percent of the 2019 level. There were 6,960 flights per week during the Spring Festival peak, which was 91.3 percent of the 2019 level, the CAAC said. The number of flights from China to 35 countries including Japan, the UK and Italy has exceeded the level of 2019, and the proportion of flights restored between China and countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative was 94.5 percent, or 10.6 percentage points higher than the average.The route network of traditional markets between China and countries in Asia and Europe continues to improve, and routes between China and Latin America, the South Pacific and Africa have further expanded, and international flight accessibility has been further enhanced, Shang said.Air China, China's flag carrier, said on Thursday that it will launch direct flights from Beijing to Cairo, Egypt and Toronto, Canada; open new routes from Beijing to Vladivostok and Irkutsk in Russia; operate routes from Seoul and Hong Kong for the first time at the Beijing Daxing International Airport, and resume flights from Chengdu to Tokyo and Paris. In addition, Air China will open routes from Beijing to Tashkent, from Urumqi to Tashkent, and from Beijing to Almaty and other Central Asian routes from June to July, promoting connections with countries along the BRI.The CAAC will continue to promote the increase of international passenger flights, and airlines are encouraged to actively expand route networks in the new emerging markets, Shang said. Lin said that it is necessary to support Chinese airlines to resume and increase international flights, and make it more convenient for foreigners to come to China. (ICE SHANGHAI)

Fonte notizia: Global Times