Travellers return to the sky as China’s Covid-19 outbreak comes under control, boosting ‘golden week’ flights by 13 per cent
- The number of daily average domestic flights rose 13 per cent compared with the same period in 2019, said the civil aviation regulator
- Domestic recovery speeds up faster than expected, but airfares rebound continued under pressure: experts
The number of daily average domestic flights rose 13 per cent during the holiday from October 1 to October 8 compared with the same period in 2019, with 109,856 local services offered during the period, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said.
“October’s gain was higher than expected, as airlines were not expecting a recovery to 90 or 100 per cent until the start of 2021,” said Bocom International’s analyst You Luya in Hong Kong. “It’s not only the recovery of demand for domestic travel, but also because people who used to travel abroad turned to domestic destinations.”
The resumption in travel underscores how life in China, the first major global economy to emerge from coronavirus lockdowns, is almost back to the pre-outbreak levels. Retail sales picked up during the weeklong holidays, a typical peak season for travelling and consumption.
Some 13.26 million people took planes nationwide during the golden week, with daily average traveller volume recovered to 91.1 per cent of the level in 2019, according to CAAC. Overall daily average flights, including international and domestic ones, recovered 89.7 per cent as overseas routes only recovered around 10 per cent.