China international flights are finally starting to bounce back, buoyed by easing of border controls and need to elevate economy

Lunar New Year holiday seen as ‘a major catalyst’ in boosting international trips a year after China reopened from the pandemic

Beijing has been relaxing visa rules in recent months as attention turns to offsetting the economic impacts of a property crisis and curtailed consumption

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Beijing Capital International Airport is seen packed in the lead-up to the Lunar New Year holiday last month. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 6:00pm, 18 Mar 2024Updated: 6:34pm, 18 Mar 2024

As China strives to make border crossings easier, with an eye on elevating economic growth in the face of considerable headwinds, international flights have seen a steady rise in recent months. And the numbers are getting closer to what was seen before the pandemic.

Passenger loads coinciding with the travel-intensive Lunar New Year holiday last month also reflected what analysts say has been a gradual rekindling of interest among Chinese travellers in foreign destinations following the country’s reopening of borders early last year.

The nation logged 4.9 million passenger trips on international flights last month, or 82 per cent of such trips taken in February 2019, according to figures reported by state broadcaster CCTV at the weekend and attributed to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

And in January and February combined, international fliers reportedly took about 9.26 million trips. That marked a massive 707 per cent increase over the same period in 2023 while reaching roughly 77 per cent of the first two months in 2019.

John Grant, a senior analyst with British aviation intelligence firm OAG, told the Post that “the rebound is built around China’s very late announcement to reopen in January 2023, and then a very tightly controlled easing of travel restrictions and entry requirements”.

“We are only, in the last four to five months, seeing any significant changes and recovery,” he said, noting that the Lunar New Year festivities were “a major catalyst”.

Zhang Chen, vice-president of Fliggy, the online travel platform of Alibaba Group, which owns the SCMP, touched on what the increase in travel interest could mean.