China’s sluggish overseas flights create ‘worrying’ trend amid US, Europe tensions
- Passengers on flights to and from China in the first three months of 2023 reached just 12.4 per cent of the level seen in the first quarter of 2019
- But in the first three months of the year, passengers taking flights within mainland China reached 88.6 per cent of pre-pandemic level
The recovery of international flights to and from China has remained sluggish compared with a quick rebound of domestic trips, a trend the head of a key American business chamber said was “worrying” amid tensions with the United States and Europe.
Flights to and from China carried around 2.2 million passengers in the first three months of 2023, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said on Tuesday, representing only 12.4 per cent of the level seen in the first quarter of 2019 before the outbreak of the coronavirus.
But in the first three months of the year, passengers taking flights within mainland China reached 88.6 per cent of pre-pandemic level at 126 million, the CAAC said.
“The biggest issue right now is there just aren’t enough flights put on between the US and China. I suppose it’s true for Europe and China as well,” said Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China.
We’d love to see more flights. It’s kind of fundamental to the things that we do
Many routes simply do not exist, and costs are “too high”, which are keeping people from travelling, added Hart.
“Those are both very worrying trends … We’d love to see more flights. It’s kind of fundamental to the things that we do. We’ve had a number of CEOs visiting. We would like to see more folks coming,” added Hart.