The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Friday that it is bullish on the growth potential of China's aviation market and believed the new airport in Beijing, which will start operations in 2019, would ensure sufficient airport capacity to meet expected traffic growth.
By 2024, China will overtake the United States as the world's biggest passenger market, and in 2035, China will be a market of 1.3 billion passengers, forecast the Montreal-based trade association of the world's airlines.
Meanwhile, the on-time performance of Chinese airlines was 76.48% between January and November last year, a 9 percentage point improvement over the same period the previous year, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
In 2016, the global airline industry's profits reached USD 35.6 billion with a net profit margin of 5.1%, the highest-ever absolute profit generated by the sector and the highest net profit margin.
This year, with expected rising oil prices, the IATA forecast the global airline industry will make a net profit of USD 29.8 billion, with a 4.1% net profit margin.
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