On December 31, 2024, passengers walk through the T2 terminal of Shanghai Pudong International Airport with their children. Photo:VCG

China's civil aviation industry saw a strong recovery in 2024 as it made a profit, and it has set higher goals for 2025, vowing to further increase profitability.

The goal was shared at the aviation work conference held in Beijing on Thursday, as the industry aims to make the total transportation turnover to reach 161 billion ton-kilometers, the passenger transportation volume of 780 million, and the cargo and mail transportation volume of 9.5 million tons. Those three figures were in huge jumps from 2019.

The profitability of the industry will also be further improved, the meeting said.
 
In 2024, China's total transportation turnover was 148.52 billion ton-kilometers, the passenger transportation volume was 730 million, and cargo and mail transportation volume reached 8.982 million tons.

In 2024, the aviation industry reduced losses by 20.6 billion yuan ($2.81 billion) year-on-year, and overall turned its losses into profits, the meeting said. 

Market watchers attributed the industry's growth to factors including a strong domestic market and the accelerated recovery pace of the international market.

As of December 15, Chinese airlines had transported more than 700 million passengers, a new high in the history of China's civil aviation development.

Starting two months ago, many airports announced that passenger throughput had exceeded historical records. 

On October 20, the inbound and outbound passenger throughput of the Beijing Daxing International Airport was 40.0131 million, setting a new record for annual passenger flows. On November 25, the annual passenger throughput of Chengdu Tianfu International Airport in Sichuan Province officially exceeded 50 million, becoming the sixth airport in China to reach this milestone, and on December 14, the passenger throughput of Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Hubei Province exceeded 30 million, also setting a new record.

In addition, the international aviation market accelerated its recovery last year.

The number of international passenger flights increased to 6,400 per week, returning to 84 percent of the pre-epidemic level, and international cargo and mail transportation volume increased by 29.3 percent year-on-year, according to the meeting. 

In view of the upcoming Spring Festival travel peak season, airlines such as Hainan Airlines and Xiamen Airlines plan to gradually add new routes to destinations such as Thailand, Singapore and Japan to meet the travel needs of passengers.

It is widely believed that with the further relaxation of the visa-free transit policies announced on December 17, growth in outbound and inbound tourism is expected to be more pronounced during the upcoming holidays.

Li Yang, a vice-minister of transport, said at a press conference on December 27 that the number of travelers during the Spring Festival holidays in 2025 will hit a record high.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) predicted that the passenger transport volume is expected to exceed 90 million in the coming holidays, setting a new record. Overseas travel is also expected to reach a new peak during the upcoming holidays, the CAAC said.

This year, the industry will strive to restore the number of international flights to more than 90 percent of the level before the epidemic, according to news outlet thepaper.cn on Thursday. 

The CAAC also vowed to promote hub construction and build a global network, and increase support for freight development.

Global Times