China's aviation population has reached 470 million, the highest among all countries in the world, Song Zhiyong, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said at a press conference in Beijing on Monday.
"During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), 350 million Chinese traveled by air. China's aviation population has reached 470 million, becoming the country with the largest aviation population in the world. Chinese airlines handled more than 700 million passengers in 2024 and the figure is expected to exceed 770 million this year," Song said.
Song said China's civil aviation administration has constantly optimized the domestic and international airline route networks in the past five years.
"In 2024, we had a total of 4,513 domestic airline routes connecting 264 cities. Our aviation services have now covered 92.6 percent of China's prefecture-level cities and 91.2 percent of the whole population. Internationally, we have opened 824 international route pairs, connecting 213 cities in 83 foreign countries, providing people with more options for outbound travels," Song said.
China sees 350 mln air travelers during 2021-2025 period
