Passengers taking flight KR9755 from Cambodia's Phnom Penh International Airport arrive at Sanya Phoenix International Airport in South China's Hainan Province on December 1, 2023. The flight, carrying 61 passengers, will fly to Singapore after the layover in Sanya. The route is the first "fifth freedom route" after the opening of the Hainan Free Trade Port. Photo: cnsphoto

The recovery of Chinese aviation market is accelerating in the new year, as shown by passenger trips and new routes, and analysts see a good year ahead amid a strong economic performance.

Over the three-day New Year's Day holidays, which ended on Monday, nearly 130 million passenger trips were made on China's railways, roads, waterways and airlines, according to the Ministry of Transport. Trips by plane accounted for 5.1 million of the total.  

The sector's positive outlook is supported by statistics from the National Immigration Administration, which said that border inspection authorities cleared 5.179 million people entering and leaving the country during the holidays.

That was an increase of 4.7 times compared with the New Year holidays in 2023, which recovered to the level of the same period in 2019.

In 2024, the recovery of the domestic market will be correlated with China's economic growth, and the major part of the increase will come from the recovery of international flights, Zheng Hongfeng, CEO of industry information provider VariFlight, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

In his opinion, the domestic market saw a fast recovery in 2023, and the sound environment will support the market. But he warned that international routes will be another important factor for the industry in 2024. 

"Airlines need lean operations to achieve profits," Zheng added. 

The domestic aviation market has shown a faster recovery than the international segment, and the Chinese government's efforts to promote international travel will support the recovery of the latter, Xie Xingquan, regional vice president for North Asia of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said in a recent interview with the Global Times. 

Statistics from IATA show that China's international travel remains 40 percent below pre-pandemic levels.

To further lift overseas travel, Chinese government is taking concrete measures to facilitate people-to-people exchanges as China's determination in promoting high-quality opening-up has injected vital momentum into the global economic recovery.

A total of 214,000 people from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia entered China in December 2023, up 28.5 percent month-on-month after China's unilateral visa-free policy for ordinary passport holders from these countries took effect on December 1. 

With the further resumption of international flights and the gradual release of passenger travel demand, the number of international air passengers will show a steady upward trend, market watchers said. 

Juneyao Airlines said that it plans to add routes to Bali, Indonesia, Kalibo in the Philippines and Asahikawa, Japan this month. In April, it will open a route from Shanghai to Athens, Greece. 

Market watchers said similar advances will occur in 2024, as the world's second-largest economy will bolster the international economic recovery.

Data from information provider flight master showed that China's aviation sector carried an estimated 620 million passengers in 2023, with an overall recovery to 93.8 percent of 2019.

Shanghai Airport (Group) Co said on Tuesday that the city's two airports had a total of 700,000 aircraft movements in 2023, with an average daily number of 1,919, a year-on-year increase of 114 percent. 

In terms of passenger throughput, there were 96.75 million passenger trips, with a daily average of 270,000 people, a year-on-year increase of 235 percent, it said.