Chinese Airlines to Increase Domestic Capacity 26/04/21

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has said Chinese carriers will increase domestic capacity on summer and autumn schedules, operating additional flights as well as launching new domestic routes.

China’s airlines will operate an average of 93,000 domestic flights each week between 28^th March 2021 and 30^th October 2021, representing a 10.7% increase YoY. Of those flights, 90,500 will be passenger services (a 10.6% YoY increase), while 2,300 flights will be freighter operations (a 13.2% YoY increase).

A total of 38 Chinese carriers will launch 322 new domestic routes during the outlined period, which will include a significant number of flights to and from cities in China’s western regions.

Due to Coronavirus, new measures are to be implemented, including:

• Loosening traffic rights management policies
• Allowing airlines to adjust capacity and frequency at short notice according to demand

Having been impacted heavily by the coronavirus pandemic, China’s domestic air travel bottomed out in February last year. It began to recover in the months that followed, but was hit by a surge in local cases at the end of 2020.