Demand for int'l flights surges in China as May Day holiday approaches

China's five-day May Day holiday is further igniting a fervent surge in international flight bookings.

According to data from online booking platforms, more than 690,000 flight bookings for inbound and outbound routes during the holiday have been made, representing a growth of approximately 17 percent compared to the previous week.

Among the top five preferred destinations for outbound travels are Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore. Notably, countries including Russia and Greece are also gaining popularity among outbound Chinese tourists, with bookings nearly doubling those of the same period last year. Particularly, long-haul European tours are seeing a rebound, with tour volumes during April and May returning to the levels of 2019.

"Based on the current flight booking volume, the demand for outbound travels during the May Day holiday is expected to grow stronger, especially for those who plan to visit countries exempt visa for Chinese. The overall market demand has constantly grown compared to that of the past two years," said Zhao Nan, director of industry development of a leading flight booking app.

The growing market demand is driving a rapid recovery in international flight volumes.

According to data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, from January 1 to April 14, Chinese and foreign airlines operated a total of 76,000 round-trip flights, which is 4.5 times those of the same period last year. Last week, the daily flight volume was nearly 10 percent higher than the daily volume of the last week of the previous year.

Since the summer-autumn flight season commenced in late March, international passenger flights have continued to grow, with significant recovery in nearby countries' market. There are now air travel connections with 68 countries, and flights between China and the United States have increased by nearly 30 percent from the previous season.

"China will soon resume air travels with more countries. Air China is set to resume flights to Cuba and Brazil, while China Southern Airlines and Hainan Airlines are expected to resume flights to Mexico. Many foreign airlines are also actively preparing to enhance their transportation capacity in China. With increased capacity, the prices of some highly demanded flight routes are expected to further drop," said Shang Kejia, deputy director of the Department of Transport, Civil Aviation Administration of China.

This year's May Day holiday lasts from May 1 to 5, and holidaymakers around the country are already planning their travels.

Demand for int'l flights surges in China as May Day holiday approaches

Demand for int’l flights surges in China as May Day holiday approaches

China has opened a new chapter of lunar exploration with the successful launch of the Chang'e-6 spacecraft on Friday.

A Long March-5 rocket, carrying the Chang'e-6 spacecraft, blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the coast of China's southern island province of Hainan at 17:27 (Beijing Time).

Approximately 37 minutes after liftoff, the Chang'e-6 spacecraft separated from the rocket and entered its planned Earth-moon transfer orbit, which had a perigee altitude of 200 kilometers and an apogee altitude of about 380,000 kilometers, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The launch of the Chang'e-6 spacecraft was a complete success, the CNSA announced.

The Chang'e-6 spacecraft, like its predecessor Chang'e-5, comprises an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a returner.

Regarded as one of the best open view sites, the beach at Qishui Bay in Longlou, a coastal town in Wenchang, attracted tens of thousands of people from all over the country to watch the launch.

"China is becoming more and more strong, and our technology is becoming more and more advanced," said one spectator.

"This is another exceptional, flawless launch, and I believe we have made a great start with a highly precise and accurate orbit insertion. We also wish the Chang'e-6 mission all the best," said Wang Jue, a technician at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

"The entire set of parameters for today's launch is excellent, laying a solid foundation for us. We will carry out trans-lunar injection, followed by lunar landing on the far side of the moon, sampling, takeoff from the far side of the moon, rendezvous and docking, and finally, the return from the moon to Earth," said Zhang Gao, another technician at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

China opens new chapter of lunar exploration with launch of Chang'e-6