China's air passenger decline slows in May as economy reopens

China’s air passenger traffic halved in May from a year earlier as the coronavirus pandemic hampered travel in the country although the pace of decline slowed from the previous month, showing the industry is on track for a gradual recovery. Air passengers numbered 25.83m in May, down 52.6% year-on-year, CAAC spokesman Xiong Jie told an online news conference on Wednesday. That compared with a 68.5% year-on-year decline in April, when passengers numbered 16.72m. In the first five days on June, the average daily numbers of passengers and flights rose to 57.4% and 66.11% of levels seen last year, respectively, with load factors nearing 70%, CAAC said on Saturday. The encouraging signs bode well for the global tourism industry, which is closely watching mainland travel patterns as countries follow China’s lead in reopening their economies. Some of the carriers preparing to resume flights to China have requested all passengers take a nucleic acid test for the coronavirus before boarding the plane, Xiong said. The CAAC has said it would suspend airlines from services if five or more passengers on a flight tested positive upon arrival.<br/>