China's aviation regulator expects the country's airlines to carry 220 million passengers this year, representing a return to double-digit percentage growth after a tougher-than-expected 2008.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) says in a statement issued after its annual working conference held earlier this week that it expects the country's airlines to carry 220 million passengers in 2009, or 11% more than in 2008. It says the amount of cargo carried should increase 8% to 4.37 million tonnes.
If the passenger traffic figure is achieved it will represent a return to double-digit percentage growth rates for China. A year ago the CAAC said it expected 2008 passenger numbers would increase 14% over 2007 but the actual growth rate was a little over 3%, according to state-run media.
The CAAC has not yet released full-year figures for 2008 but its 2009 forecast of 11% growth indicates that fewer than 200 million passengers were carried, well below the 210 million that it forecast a year ago.
Chinese airlines struggled in 2008 as demand fell after natural disasters in parts of the country around the middle of the year. Demand also fell for several months before and after the Olympic Games in Beijing in August, in part because of strict visa restrictions imposed on foreign nationals for security reasons.
Domestic demand has since returned to double-digit percentage growth rates but international demand remains badly depressed as a result of weak global economic conditions.
The latest official statistics released by the CAAC were for November and they showed China's airlines carried 10.3% more passengers on domestic flights that month but 18.8% fewer passengers on international flights.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
