CHINA ROADMAPS AVIATION RECOVERY FOR THE GLOBAL INDUSTRY

With the golden week glow, growing passenger confidence, cheaper flight rates, and government support, China’s domestic aviation sector is witnessing a steady growth

- AYUSHEE CHAUDHARY

Just How China Was the first to experience the spread of novel coronavirus that brought the world to a standstill, the country also seems to be among the first ones to show distinct and continuous signs of recovery in the civil aviation sector.

According to a report released by VariFlight, a China-based civil aviation data service provider, Chinese airports handled a total of 3,75,300 outbound flights last month, down 6.86 percent compared to the previous year, but up 1.6 percent month on month. The report also shows that the number of domestic flights rose year on year in September, while the number of international flights increased slightly compared to August.

Travel analytics company ForwardKeys had predicted domestic air travel to fully recover in China by September, making it the first aviation market anywhere in the world to reach pre-pandemic levels.

ForwardKeys had predicted that domestic air travel in China, which had been recovering progressively in the view of the Covid19 outbreak, will reach a full recovery by the start of September. This was done in the wake of domestic arrivals at Chinese airports reaching 86 percent of 2019 levels in the second week of August, while bookings (issued air tickets) hitting 98 percent, with most being for travel in mid to late August.

The ForwardKeys forecast of a full recovery was based on four factors.

• First, the pandemic was under control.

• Second, domestic aviation seat capacity was set to grow by 5.7 percent in the last week of August when compared to the same period in last year – and when airlines make seats available, they tend to fill them by flexing fares.