China plans for air travel surge over Lunar New Year holidays

Passenger flights in China might rebound over the Lunar New Year holidays and hit 88% of the pre-pandemic level by the end of January, based on a timetable rolled out by the national civil aviation regulator. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued the plan following China's shift last week away from its zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19. Demand for flights climbed quickly as the country abandoned most restrictions. Air travel is expected to surge substantially during the Lunar New Year holidays, from Jan. 7 to Jan. 21, as hundreds of millions of migrant workers return to their hometowns. On Dec. 12, days after new policies were issued to remove most travel curbs, domestic flight activity jumped to around 65% of pre-pandemic levels from just 22% as of Nov. 29, numbers from Chinese aviation data company VariFlight show. But the wanderlust could be short-lived: The easing of COVID rules has unleashed a rapidly spreading virus, prompting some people to stay home. According to the CAAC plan, air services will be restored in three phases. In the first step, daily passenger flights will increase by Jan. 6 to as many as 11,280, equivalent to 70% of the 2019 daily average. Among the total, up to 9,280 could be domestic flights, the CAAC said. In the second phase, from Jan. 7 to Jan. 31, encompassing the Lunar New Year travel surge, daily passenger flights would rise to a maximum of 13,667, including up to 11,667 for domestic trips. That would be about 88% of the 2019 level. Lunar New Year bookings are expected to hit the highest level in three years, reaching 80% of pre-pandemic levels, Guo Lechun, an analyst with travel booking platform Qunar's data research arm, was quoted as saying. In the final phase, through March 25, the industry will continue a stable recovery, according to the CACC.<br/>