Civil Aviation Administration: China's international civil aviation passenger market continued to improve in the first quarter, and the passenger volume during the "May Day" holiday may reach a new high.

April 27, the Civil Aviation Administration held a press conference to introduce the first quarter and March civil aviation safety production situation, "May 1st" holiday civil aviation transportation guarantee arrangements, etc. The Deputy Director of the Transportation Department of the Civil Aviation Administration, Shang Kejia, introduced at the meeting that in the first quarter of this year, the international route network continued to expand, and the international flight volume and passenger volume further increased. Up to now, a total of 28 Chinese airlines and 100 foreign airlines operate international passenger routes in China. A total of 78 countries are connected by these routes, a net increase of 4 countries compared to 2019. In addition, this year's "May 1st" holiday totals 5 days, and based on predictions, the passenger transport volume of civil aviation is estimated to be around 10.75 million people, averaging 2.15 million per day, an 8% increase compared to 2024, reaching a historical high for the same period. It is expected that the peak daily passenger flow at the beginning and end of the holiday will exceed 2.3 million people. Text continues below: Deputy Director of the Civil Aviation Safety Office, Li Yong: The safety production and operation of civil aviation in March and the first quarter are as follows: In terms of safety operation: In March, the entire industry completed 1.152 million hours of transportation flight, a 3.4% increase compared to the previous year; a total of 440,000 flights were completed, a 1.6% increase. In the first quarter, the entire industry completed a total of 3.584 million hours of transportation flight, a 4.8% increase compared to the previous year; a total of 1.36 million flights were completed, a 2.6% increase. No transportation aviation accidents occurred, and the safety operation situation remained stable overall. In terms of production operation: In March, the entire industry completed a total turnover of 12.88 billion ton-kilometers, a 10.3% increase compared to the previous year; completed passenger transport of 59.446 million, a 3.5% increase; completed cargo and mail transport of 817,000 tons, a 15.3% increase. The average daily utilization rate of aircraft was 8.5 hours, remaining the same year-on-year. In the first quarter, the entire industry completed a total turnover of 38.59 billion ton-kilometers, with passenger transport volume of 190 million, cargo and mail transport volume of 224,300 tons, a respective increase of 10.5%, 4.9%, and 11.7% compared to the previous year. The average daily utilization rate of aircraft was 9.2 hours, a 0.3-hour increase year-on-year. In terms of operational guarantee: In March, a total of 518,000 flights of all kinds were supported, averaging 16,696 flights per day, a 5.0% increase year-on-year. The flight on-time rate was 94.4%, a 2.3 percentage point increase compared to the previous year. In the first quarter, a total of 1.581 million flights of all kinds were supported, averaging 17,564 flights per day, a 7.3% increase year-on-year. The flight on-time rate was 94.5%, a 4.9 percentage point increase year-on-year. Deputy Director of the Transportation Department of the Civil Aviation Administration, Shang Kejia: The "May 1st" holiday is a peak travel period for tourism, leisure, and visiting friends and family. The civil aviation transportation market will maintain a steady growth trend. This year's "May 1st" holiday totals 5 days, and based on predictions, the passenger transport volume of civil aviation is estimated to be around 10.75 million people, averaging 2.15 million per day, an 8% increase compared to 2024, reaching a historical high for the same period. It is expected that the peak daily passenger flow at the beginning and end of the holiday will exceed 2.3 million people. In terms of domestic routes, civil aviation passengers are mainly concentrated in the four major city clusters of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao, and Chengdu-Chongqing. So far, the highest number of passenger bookings are on routes between Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou and between Beijing and Shenzhen, and Chengdu. In addition, bookings for regional routes to tourist destinations such as Xishuangbanna, Lhasa, Lijiang, Kashgar, Hotan, and others are also quite concentrated. In terms of international routes, it is expected that both passenger transport volume and flight volume during the "May 1st" period will reach the peak since the second quarter. The main destinations for passenger travel are in Japan, South Korea, and traditional Southeast Asian tourism markets. At the same time, with the continuous optimization of entry, transit visa convenience policies and the gradual promotion of departure tax refund services, it is expected that the number of foreign tourists entering the country will continue to increase, driving foreign airlines to further increase flights. To effectively ensure the civil aviation transportation guarantee work during the "May 1st" holiday, the Civil Aviation Administration has proactively organized analysis and research, meticulously arranged and deployed around operation safety, capacity allocation, passenger services, etc., to make preparations for guaranteeing the safety and convenience of passengers and to ensure a warm and comfortable journey for travelers. First, strictly adhere to the safety bottom line to ensure smooth and stable operation. According to meteorological forecasts, the national temperature is generally higher during the "May 1st" period, making it prone to severe convective weather and heavy rainfall, and thunder and hail events are also on the rise. The Civil Aviation Administration urges all operating units to pay high attention to dealing with complex weather conditions, timely take targeted safety measures to systematically prevent the operational risks of adverse weather conditions. Combining with seasonal characteristics, efforts will be made to intensify the inspection and rectification of problems and hidden dangers. The "early warning, early consultation, early decision-making, early disposal, early notification" requirements will be implemented seriously, relying on the three-level coordination mechanism of "national-region-airport" to handle sudden situations in a timely and effective manner to ensure the safety, stability, and orderliness of flight operations. Second, strengthen analysis and research, precisely control flight capacity. According to airline flight schedules, a total of 88,000 regular flights are planned for the national civil aviation during the "May 1st" holiday, a 2.3% increase year-on-year; 173 additional flights have been approved, an 8% increase, mainly involving 35 cities such as Lijiang, Zhuhai, Dunhuang, Ganzhou, and Sanya. In addition, the Civil Aviation Administration also urges airlines to increase flights in a timely manner, swap large aircraft types, increase supply of popular flight routes, and fully meet the travel needs of passengers. Third, insist on attentive service to enhance passenger service quality. The Civil Aviation Administration supervises all airlines and airports to effectively implement the requirement of "service operation integration," formulate in advance the guarantee plan for the heavy passenger flow during the "May 1st" holiday, and do a good job in providing information, ticket alteration/refund, passenger gathering and evacuation, and other support work in case of flight abnormalities. Various units are required to improve customer service telephone connection rate, respond to passenger demands promptly. For the travel needs of passengers with disabilities, the elderly, children, etc., service processes will be further optimized, service guarantee details will be improved, and a warm and comfortable flight environment will be created. Fourth, strengthen price management to maintain the order of the civil aviation market. The Civil Aviation Administration requires all airlines to strictly abide by national price laws, regulations, and industry price policies, strengthen price self-discipline, enhance sales channel management, and stabilize price levels. The authority will enhance price monitoring and supervision checks, safeguard the market order, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of passengers. Pengpai News reporter: Since the beginning of this year, extreme and complex weather conditions have frequently occurred, causing a significant impact on the safety and operational efficiency of civil aviation flights. In this regard, what specific work will the civil aviation department focus on to address these challenges? Li Yong: The Civil Aviation Administration attaches great importance to the impact of complex weather on flight safety.The impact of overall operational efficiency requires all units to tighten their responsibilities at all levels, implement and refine safety measures, and focus on the following three areas of work: First, strengthen production organization. Supervise airlines to continue carrying out specialized training in identifying and avoiding dangerous weather, improve the crew's ability to efficiently use meteorological radar to circumvent dangerous weather. Strictly require weather and release standards, adjust flight plans in a timely manner, strengthen crew strength, enhance operational control, and strengthen air-ground coordination. Urge airports to strengthen facility equipment inspection and maintenance to ensure their safe and reliable operation. Require air traffic control departments to enhance monitoring, early warning, and early forecasting of complex weather, and provide reliable support for crews to divert or land. Second, enhance collaborative linkage. Encourage units to rely on the three-level collaborative operation mechanism of "national-regional-airport" to study and formulate operational strategies based on influencing factors and comprehensive support capabilities, and dynamically optimize and improve in combination with actual situations. The Civil Aviation Administration relies on the national civil aviation operational coordination video conference scheduling mechanism to organize the industry to conduct operational scheduling daily, fully share operational information, urge the formulation of support plans, coordinate solutions to operational difficulties, and fully enhance operational efficiency. Third, improve passenger services. Encourage units to further perfect emergency response plans for large-scale flight delays and diversions. Airports, in conjunction with airlines, flexibly allocate resources for scenes and terminal facilities based on operational situations and flight delay conditions, and properly deal with flight and passenger congestion. In addition, the Civil Aviation Administration will soon issue the "Overall Plan for Civil Aviation Operational Support During the 2025 Thunderstorm Season," strengthen overall coordination and management, refine response measures, and fully ensure the safe, smooth, and orderly operation of civil aviation during the thunderstorm season.Beijing Business Daily reporter: How is the development of the international passenger market in the first quarter? Has it reached or exceeded the level of the same period in 2019? Shang Kejia: In the first quarter of this year, the international airline network has been continuously expanding, and the number of international flights and passengers has further increased. In terms of flight volume, Chinese and foreign airlines operated an average of 6,395 international passenger flights per week, which is 83.9% of the level in 2019. During the Spring Festival peak, there were 6,960 flights per week, which is 91.3% of the level in 2019. The flight volume to 35 countries including Japan, the UK, and Italy has exceeded the level in 2019, with the proportion of flight resumptions between China and Belt and Road countries reaching 94.5%, exceeding the average by 10.6 percentage points. In terms of passenger volume, taking Chinese airlines as an example, a total of 18.925 million international passengers were transported in the first quarter, a significant increase of 34% year-on-year, and a 4.5% increase compared to the same period in 2019. The passenger transport volume to Northeast Asia, West Asia, Central Asia, Europe, and Africa has increased by 20%, 91%, 233%, 71%, and 241% compared to 2019. As of now, there are 28 Chinese airlines and 100 foreign airlines operating international passenger routes in China. They serve a total of 78 countries, with a net increase of 4 countries compared to 2019. The traditional market routes between China and Asia and Europe continue to improve, while routes to Latin America, the South Pacific, and Africa are further expanding, enhancing the accessibility of international flights. In the next step, the Civil Aviation Administration will continue to promote the increase of international passenger flights: on the one hand, focusing on the traditional market, emphasizing on "optimizing structure, improving quality, ensuring stability," guiding airlines to compete differentially, achieving progress while maintaining stability and improving quality and efficiency; on the other hand, for emerging markets, encouraging airlines to actively expand their route networks, accelerate the construction of the sky silk road, and better serve the overall national diplomacy and foreign trade. This article is excerpted from China Net, edited by GMTEight: Wang Qiujia.