Chinese international aviation market has risen by 29 pc in the year gone by
A record 730 million air trips were made by passengers in China in the year 2024, setting a new record as the civil aviation sector in China maintained its robust rate of growth and rebound, after a particularly slow restart in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
These figures were released by officials of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in Beijing on Friday, who said that the number of trips made in 2024 represent a year-on-year increase of 18 pc compared to 2023 when a total of 620 million passenger trips were made, according to Shu Mingjiang, a senior official of CAAC.
It is estimated that the sector completed 13.81 million flight hours and 5.39 million flights in 2024, with those figures up 13.1 pc and 9.5 pc year on year.
Shu also said that China’s civil aviation sector reported no accidents in 2024, and that the CAAC has worked to guard against security risks, improve emergency response efficiency and carry out special security inspections for the upcoming Spring Festival travel rush.
China’s civil aviation sector is expected to handle a record 90 million passenger trips during the 2025 Spring Festival travel season, which will run from January 14 to February 22, according to the CAAC.
Shu Mingjiang
According to CAAC, the robust recovery of the aviation market in 2024 has been largely driven by domestic routes, which logged about 640 million passenger trips, representing a 14-pc increase compared to the same period in 2019, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
International routes also showed remarkable growth, with more than 60 million passenger trips reflecting a year-on-year surge of over 130 pc as global travel restrictions eased and demand rebounded, the administration noted.
CAAC data showed that operational efficiency in the civil aviation sector reached new heights, with the single-day peak passenger volume hitting 2.45 million, an increase of 9.8 pc compared to the highest daily figure last year. The average passenger load factor exceeded 83 pc, on par with pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to the data provided by CAAC.
According to aviation industry tracker OAG, Baiyun International (CAN) was China’s busiest domestic airport in December 2024, with 3.1 million seats, increasing capacity by 3 pc over the same month in 2023. OAG adds that Beijing Capital (PEK) and Shenzhen (SZN) airports are a close second and third busiest airports with 2.95 million and 2.93 million seats respectively. In contrast, however, capacity at Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) and Shanghai Pudong International (PVG) has reduced by 4.4 pc and 5.4% respectively vs December 2023.
OAG adds that Xi-an Xianyang (XIY), Chongqing and Baiyun Intl (CAN) Airports saw highest proportionate increases in capacity, recording a growth of 4.9 pc, 3.3 pc and 3 pc respectively versus last year.
China Southern is largest Chinese airline
As an airline, China Southern remains China’s largest carrier, with 15 pc of seats in December, though its domestic capacity was 10 pc lower than December 2023. The second largest carrier China Eastern had 9.36 million seats, a drop of 6 pc in domestic capacity.
OAG says that while domestic capacity grew by 2 pc, international capacity rose much faster, by 29 pc versus last year. The top three international markets remain behind 2019 levels. Japan was the busiest international market with 997,100 seats, followed by Thailand with 832,800 seats and South Korea with 748,100 seats.
International capacity is recovering strongly vs last year, particularly to Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan and Thailand. Capacity has more than doubled to Malaysia and is 22 pc higher than in 2019, it adds.