China's civil aviation sector maintained safe and stable operation in the first three quarters of this year, with steady growth in both passenger and cargo transportation volumes, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
In the first nine months of the year, airlines nationwide logged 122.03 billion tonne-kilometers of transport turnover, handled 580 million passenger trips, and carried 7.395 million tonnes of cargo and mail, up 10.3 percent, 5.2 percent and 14.0 percent year on year, respectively.
A total of 4.88 million flights of all types were safely operated in the first nine months, an average of 18,000 flights per day, a year-on-year increase of five percent. Meanwhile, the flight regularity rate was 89.7 percent, an increase of 5.2 percentage points over the same period of the previous year.
In the third quarter alone, overall aviation operation maintained rapid growth, with airlines nationwide logging 43.68 billion tonne-kilometers of transport turnover, a year-on-year increase of 12.4 percent.
In the July-September period, civil aviation passenger traffic maintained steady growth, with a total of 210 million passenger trips handled, a year-on-year increase of 3.9 percent. During the summer peak travel season, the number of monthly passenger trips exceeded 70 million for consecutive months, including over 7 million international passenger trips, both reaching record monthly highs.
Civil aviation cargo demand remains strong in the past three months. Airlines nationwide handled 2.611 million tonnes of cargo and mail transport, a year-on-year increase of 12.8 percent. In the three-month period, international cargo traffic maintained double-digit growth year on year.
China's civil aviation industry maintains steady growth in January-September
Polish citizens are feeling the squeeze of surging energy costs, as the conflict in the Middle East continues to roil the international energy market,
In Poland, rising fuel prices are gradually making their way into everyday life and the real economy. Many residents said higher energy costs are taking a heavy toll.
"I do think about this issue more and try to reduce my fuel consumption. Overall, everything happening right now is unsettling," said Pawel, a Warsaw resident.
"I really feel it. Prices have gone up a lot. We're trying to cope and can manage for now. Taxi fares haven't increased yet, but it's definitely getting harder," said Wiktor, another resident.
"Of course it has affected us. Because fuel prices have gone up, everything else is more expensive and costs more now," said Anita, another local resident.
Meanwhile, those working in the transport and service sectors said rising oil prices are directly impacting their businesses.
"The courier industry, like most taxi drivers, is soon going to face closure and be forced out of business. I used to drive international long-distance buses, and honestly, some people in that sector are also thinking about quitting," said Michal, another Warsaw resident.
Lukasz Goczek, a professor from the Department of Macroeconomics and Theory of Foreign Trade at the University of Warsaw, said the continued shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy corridor, could leave global energy prices elevated for a long time, heavily impacting the world economy.
"Iran has this huge leverage. It's got the whole world in a chokehold because 20 percent of oil that's transported in the world goes through the Strait. It obviously means that the price of energy is going to increase. We see it at the petrol stations," said Goczek.
Goczek also noted that U.S. and Israeli military actions against Iran have dealt a serious blow to the international order.
"I think that's pretty much, by now, the international law. If it's not that, it's definitely very, very illegal. There wasn't any reason for war. It just straightforwardly began without any warning. So it was much of a surprise. We need the international order to have peace, to prosper, to have trade," said Goczek.
Rising energy costs squeeze Polish households, businesses
