During the three-day New Year’s Day Holiday of 2018, civil aviation operated safely and steadily, transporting 4.2 million passengers, up 21.1% compared with last year. Domestic airlines operated 34,100 flights, a year-on-year growth of 16%, at a flight regularity rate of 91.2%.

According to the CAAC statistics about the departing flights from major domestic cities, there was, during the holiday, a marked increase in the number of passengers handled by the airports at tourist destinations. In terms of departing flights, airports with a high passenger load factor (PLF) included those in Sanya, Xishuangbanna, Lhasa, Haikou, Ningbo, Harbin, Nanning, Lijiang, Urumqi, Changchun and Beijing. The average PLF of departing flights from these airports all exceeded 85%, showing that northern and southern areas were more popular destinations, a typical feature during winter tourist season. The average PLF of departing flights from airports in Sanya, Xishuangbanna and Lhasa were over 88%.

To satisfy the huge market demand during the New Year break, many airlines increased their capacity on popular routes by operating larger aircraft and optimizing the route network.