'Not optimistic': Resurgent Covid-19 sees Chinese airline traffic tumble

Chinese airline passenger traffic took a hit in August — amid a resurgence in the coronavirus in large swathes of the Chinese mainland — with aviation regulators calling it “not optimistic”. Figures released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) state that Chinese carriers carried 22.4m passengers in August, which was nearly 52% lower year on year. Compared to the same month in pre-pandemic 2019, the figure represented a significant 63% decline. The authority did not provide a breakdown on domestic and international passenger numbers, though it is understood that a large majority are domestic travellers. CAAC officials, in a routine press conference held on 14 September, pointed out that the latest wave of infections — caused by the more-infectious Delta variant — had caused traffic to “significantly decline”. The Delta-fuelled infections in China originated from the eastern city of Nanjing in late-July and quickly spread to other parts of the country, including to capital Beijing. Since then, strict social gathering restrictions have been imposed in Nanjing, which also shut its airport for weeks, as well as other Chinese cities. <br/>