Passengers are waiting to check in their luggage at Urumqi Diwopu International Airport, in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on December 11, 2022. Photo: VCG

The railway and aviation departments in Xinjiang are making continuous efforts to increase traffic as life is gradually returning to normal and production is steadily restored.

China Southern Airlines said on Tuesday that it plans to start a route from Guangzhou to Altay in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Friday, and the carrier is expected to operate 90 regular routes covering 21 cities in Xinjiang during the winter and spring seasons.

Industry information provider VariFlight showed that the Urumqi Diwopu International Airport ranked top in terms of passengers transport growth on Monday, when single-day growth was 436.51 percent compared with the same period last week.

As of Sunday, more than 20 airports in Xinjiang had resumed operations, and flight routes between Xinjiang and 37 domestic cities, as well as some intra-regional flight routes, had been restored. A total of 16 rail routes had resumed services, according to the Xinhua News Agency, citing local authorities.

China announced 10 new measures on December 7 to further optimize its COVID-19 response based on the latest epidemic situation. Local governments have rolled out a raft of follow-up measures to push for the resumption of normal life, production and business operation.

Passengers traveling across regions and provinces are no longer required to present negative results of nucleic acid tests or health codes at public transport venues, according to an optimized guideline issued by the Ministry of Transport on December 8.

On Sunday, local officials in Urumqi, capital city of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, announced that the city will step up efforts to boost the resumption of work, production and business.

Xinjiang plans to issue more than 50,000 consumption coupons to boost the recovery of the region's winter sports and tourism industries, the China Media Group reported on Sunday.

Xinjiang will definitely be a hot spot after the optimization measures take effect, and it is expected to see a full resumption of the travel market in the beginning of January of next year, Liang Changhong, general manager of the Xinjiang company at China's CYTS Tours Holding Co, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Global Times