National Day holiday sees double-digit rise in int'l flight bookings

China has witnessed a 22.5-percent rise in international flight bookings for the seven-day National Day holiday beginning on Thursday, with the overall passenger traffic during the holiday season nationwide projected to hit 2.13 billion trips.

The Ministry of Transport said it expects the travel peak to arrive on the first day of the National Day holiday, with the number of passenger trips projected to reach 340 million, nearly twice the average volume seen on non-holiday days. 

Meanwhile, the ministry also expects car rental trips to surge by more than 20 percent.

Bookings for international air tickets have risen 22.5 percent year‑on‑year, with the civil aviation passenger volume expected to hit an all-time high for the same period.

The two major international airports in Beijing -- the Beijing Capital International Airport and the Beijing Daxing International Airport -- said they are anticipating the handling of over 2.9 million passenger trips during the holiday season.

"The travel during the National Day holiday season will hit its peak on Oct 1 and Oct 7, with the daily passenger throughput projected to reach 245,000. For the Beijing Capital International Airport, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Guiyang are expected to be among the top domestic destinations. Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Bali, and Singapore are expected to be among the most sought-after international destinations," said Du Tao, assistant duty manager of the operations control center of the Beijing Capital International Airport.

China's railway authorities have added passenger train services on popular travel routes.

National Day holiday sees double-digit rise in int'l flight bookings

Iran's government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said Wednesday that the country has received the U.S. proposal in response to its proposed seven-day plan to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on social media platform X, Mohajerani said that Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi announced having received the U.S. proposal at a cabinet meeting earlier in the day.

Iran conveyed a proposed seven-day plan to cease hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to the United States through mediators last Tuesday on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the region and tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

On June 18, the United States and Iran signed the MoU on ending the war in the region on all fronts, including Lebanon. Under the agreement, known as the Islamabad MoU, they were scheduled to hold negotiations within a period of 60 days, which ended on Aug. 17, to reach a final agreement, but the talks' fate remains unclear following a series of recent escalations between the two countries.

Iran receives U.S. response to its 7-day plan: gov't spokeswoman