Highlights from CAAC's Press Conference, Apr. 2
Apr. 03, 2020
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) held a press conference Thursday, where the aviation authority updated the public on the latest status of China's air transport industry under new policies issued earlier due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here China Aviation Daily outlines the key highlights of this press conference.
Daily Domestic Capacity at 42% of Pre-Epidemic Average
China has seen a modest rebound in its daily domestic capacity, which has recovered to 42% of the average level before the COVID-19 outbreak, with 6,533 flights carried out daily in March, an increase of 20.5% compared to the last month. The passenger flights have resumed mainly in the northwest and southwest areas of China, where feature a relatively high concentration of migrant workers, and areas of eager labor demand, such as Yangtze river delta and the pearl river delta.
"First Points of Entry into China"
There were 106 flights re-adjusted by 7 airlines as of Apr. 1, after CAAC announced that all Beijing-bound international flights should be diverted to the " designated first points of entry into China" starting Mar. 20. These designated airports have handled a total of 24,651 inbound passengers, of which 20,665 passengers were stranded in their entering cities, a rate of about 84%. Among all "first points", the top 3 airports by the number of inbound international flights are Tianjin Binhai International Airport (31), Qingdao Liuting International Airport (15) and Hohhot Baita International Airport (14).
No More Than 134 Intl Flights Per Week
As China's international flights have now been limited to no more than 134 per week, there will be a total of only 108 flights into the country during the first week after Mar. 29, the effective start date of the government's new policy ordering international schedule cuts. The flights to be operated are mainly from 4 countries, namely United States, Thailand, Cambodia and Japan.
Airports in Hubei Resume Flights
All domestic flights have resumed operations in Hubei Province except for the Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan. As of Apr. 1, 4 airports in the cities of Yichang, Xiangyang, Shiyan and Enshi have handled a total of 26,624 passengers for 377 flights, of which 66% are outbound passengers and 34% are inbound passengers.
Increased Intl Air Freight Volume
The number of international cargo flights in China this week has reached 1,195, an increase of 17.85% compared to the pre-epidemic average of 1,014. There were 528 chartered cargo-only flights approved in March, which is about 4.47 times the number for the same period last year, and a quarter of the total number in 2019.
6 Incentives to Boast Cargo Capacity
- Continue reducing the international air freight cost.
- Simplify the approval process for cargo flights.
- Encourage airlines to operate cargo-only flights using passenger aircraft
- Adopt a "point to point" approach for cargo flights.
- Establish a precise connection mechanism between foreign trade enterprises and air transportation enterprises.
- Launch a major air transport guarantee mechanism and provide temporary flights or charter flights.