Figures released by the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) show that domestic passenger traffic during the National Holiday — a peak travel season in China — was lower compared to the same period in 2020. 

Chinese airlines carried 9.3 million domestic passengers during a week-long holiday between October 1 and October 7, 2021, a decline of 20% compared to the same period in 2020, according to the CAAC. 

Average load factor decreased to 74%, a 5% slump against the same period in 2020. Chinese airlines operated a total of 90,663 flights during the National Holiday period.

The lower domestic passenger traffic numbers were attributed to the resurgence of the COVID-19 cases in China. 

“Affected by the recent epidemic in individual regions in China, the number of inbound and outbound passenger bookings and passenger load factors in most tourist cities during the holiday period were slightly lower than the same period last year,” read the CAAC statement. 

Due to the local COVID-19 outbreaks China’s passenger traffic has been decreasing. In August 2021, Chinese airlines carried 22.4 million passengers, down 52% compared to the same period in 2020. 

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