China's air travel market has performed highly positively since the country optimized its COVID-19 response measures, the International Air Transport Association said. There is also huge potential for future growth, the association added.
Thanks to the reopening of China's borders, IATA has raised its profit forecast for the global aviation industry.
It said in June that airline industry profits are expected to reach USD 9.8 billion this year, more than double its previous forecast of USD 4.7 billion in December last year.
In 2019, China's domestic flight market accounted for 9.8% of the global domestic market for air travel. In 2022, it dropped to 6.4%, but during the first six months of this year, the number rebounded to 11%, exceeding the pre-pandemic level, IATA said.
In the first half of the year, China's civil aviation transport maintained its recovery momentum, almost returning to the level seen in 2019 before the pandemic, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
From January to June, about 284 million air passenger trips were handled, reaching 88.2% of the level recorded in the first half of 2019, CAAC said.
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