China has increased transportation capacity in its air, highway and railway systems to handle a busier 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, which is set to begin on Monday and expected to see 9.5 billion cross-regional passenger trips.
Each year during the period, millions of people working, studying, or living away from their hometowns return for the Spring Festival, China's most important traditional holiday, forming the world's largest annual human migration.
The railway network in China has geared up to meet the growing travel demand. It is capable of scheduling over 14,000 passenger trains per day during the peak period of the travel rush, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.3 percent in transportation capacity.
"By analyzing data flows, we are now capable of tracking passengers' demands and dynamically managing transportation capacity in areas such as ticket purchasing, waitlist management, and transportation capacity adjustments so that the transportation resources will be used more effectively to meet passengers' travel needs," said Zhang Zhiqiang, head of the operation support department at the China Railway 12306 Technology Center.
During the travel rush, China's civil aviation sector is expected to schedule an average of 19,400 flights per day, increasing by 5 percent year on year.
Helping meet capacity, a new terminal was put into test operation at Sanya Phoenix International Airport on Sunday to facilitate smooth travel in the island province of Hainan, which is a popular tourism destination for people from home and abroad during the Spring Festival holiday.
The country is also expected to handle record-high daily self-driving trips and highway traffic volume during the travel rush period.
The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, falls on February 17 this year. The official holiday lasts nine days, with the travel rush running through March 13.
China increases transportation capacity to handle busier Spring Festival travel rush
Iraq has seen its aviation industry dealt a huge blow because of continued airspace closures and flight suspensions amid regional hostilities triggered by the recent Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran.
As security concerns persist while tensions remain high, Iraq announced on Friday it would extend the closure of its airspace for one more week as uncertainty over the conflict continues to hang in the air.
It is estimated that the country's aviation industry has lost more than 43 million U.S. dollars over the past month since the crisis erupted, with the war causing huge disruption to air travel across the region.
"After the closure of Iraqi airspace, airport operations were halted, and revenue from both arriving and departing flights was lost. This includes income from passenger services as well as overflying aircraft, which has significantly impacted overall revenues," said Maytham al-Safi, director of media office of the Iraqi Ministry of Transport.
The impact is being felt across the board, from government revenues to private businesses, as some of the leading travel agencies say bookings have completely collapsed, with some reporting daily passenger numbers dropping from around 100 to just five.
"Our company has been directly affected. We have four branches and around 80 employees, and the impact has been significant. We still have rent and other expenses to cover, so we are trying to adapt to whatever limited business is still possible," said Ahmed Khalid, managing director of the Safari Trip travel and tourism company in Baghdad.
With air travel no longer an option, many Iraqis are turning to overland routes -- often traveling for hours, even days, to reach neighboring countries like Türkiye. But the journey is not only longer and more expensive, it can also be highly risky.
"This situation creates real anxiety for families. It's not only the travelers who are at risk, but also the vehicles transporting them. These journeys can be dangerous. There is always the risk of accidents or even drone strikes. At the same time, costs have doubled, so people are facing both financial and safety pressures," said Anwar al-Mousawi, a local resident.
For many, a sense of frustration is growing the longer the current situation drags on, as civilians bear the consequences of a conflict they are not part of, and with no clear timeline for reopening Iraqi airspace, economic losses and public frustration are expected to deepen.
"The reality is, we are in a country that is not part of this war and did not start it, yet we are the ones paying the price," said al-Mousawi.
Iraq's aviation industry left grounded as Middle East crisis continues
