Air travel surges thanks to Spring Festival and visa policies

The eight-day Spring Festival holiday that lasted from Feb 10 to 17, coupled with the relaxed visa policies of several countries towards China, has significantly boosted the demand of outbound and inbound travel for Chinese travelers and fueled further growth for the air travel market.

During the holiday period, the total number of air passengers handled in China, including domestic and international flights, reached 17.99 million. The daily average number of passenger trips handled hit 2.25 million, setting a new high, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Over the festival period, the total number of flights operated in China reached 137,000, up 4.9 percent when compared with the same period of 2019, or before the COVID-19 pandemic. The figure jumped 33.2 percent year-on-year, according to the CAAC.

"Domestically, Guangzhou Baiyun, Shenzhen Bao'an and Chengdu Tianfu international airports were the busiest airports during the holiday," said Zheng Hongfeng, founder and CEO of VariFlight, an aviation data and solution service provider.

For international and regional routes, the number of flights operated during the festival period reached 15,000, which rebounded to nearly 70 percent of the level seen in 2019, and the figure surged 364 percent year-on-year, VariFlight found.