On the clear night of December 31, 2020, Feng Zhenglin, Secretary of the CAAC Party Group and Administrator of CAAC, came to Beijing Capital International Airport to welcome the safe return of flight crews.

At 20:30, Feng Zhenglin greeted the crew members of Air China flight CA1558 (Shanghai-Beijing) and Sichuan Airlines flight 3U8895 (Chengdu-Beijing) at T3 terminal. He then came to T2 terminal to welcome the crew members of China Eastern Airlines flight MU2115 (Xi'an-Beijing) and HNA flight HU7708 (Shenzhen-Beijing). Among those flights, the Sichuan Airlines flight was performed by the “China Civil Aviation Hero Crew”. Feng Zhenglin shook hands with the crew members one by one, presented them with flowers and gifts, congratulated them on their successful completion of all flying missions in 2020, and wished everyone a happy new year.

Feng Zhenglin also sent holiday greetings to the maintenance, security, and ground service personnel on duty, and took group photos with them. He thanked everyone for staying at their posts regardless of the severe coldness or the summer heat, and pointed out that it is the efforts of them all that have built a solid foundation for the safety of China’s civil aviation industry, which enabled the cordial service to passengers.

Feng Zhenglin pointed out that the safe landing of flights on December 31 marks a successful conclusion of the safety work of China’s civil aviation in 2020 and the 13th Five-Year Plan. 2020 was an extraordinary year. With the outbreak of COVID-19 at the beginning of the year, civil aviation staff, hailed as heroes, were fighting on the forefront and bearing the heavy burdens of supporting major transport missions. At the early stage of the pandemic, China’s civil aviation has transported medical teams and medical supplies to Hubei in a rapid manner, which served as a bridge for life; then at the later stage, China’s civil aviation delivered “health kits” and other medical supplies to overseas students, transported Chinese medical teams to assist overseas countries, and repatriated Chinese citizens stranded in overseas countries, which reflected China’s speed and responsibility as a big country. This year’s pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the civil aviation industry. Facing the sharp decrease in passenger flights, airlines have actively improved their cargo capacity by means such as converting passenger flights to cargo flights, and contributed to the international supply chain. The back-breaking efforts of aviation staff has paid off since China’s civil aviation took the lead in the world to achieve a V-shape rebound. Also, work and production were resumed in China. The efficient epidemic prevention and control, and the socio-economic rebound have enabled the good health of our people and our nation.

Feng Zhenglin said that this year, China’s civil aviation has safeguarded the bottom line of safety, improved service quality, put in place epidemic prevention and control measures, and is now reducing losses and increasing profits. At present, the situation of the international pandemic is still severe, and the pressure of disease import is still huge. Therefore, everyone must pay attention to self-protection, and continue to follow the prevention and control measures. 2021 is the year of the ox. I hope that in the new year, China’s civil aviation will be bullish and I hope that everyone can work together and make persistent efforts to practice the great spirit of combating the COVID-19 epidemic, the contemporary civil aviation spirit, as well as the spirit of the hero crew and craftsmanship, so as to make new and greater contributions to the shifting from a country with single air transport strength to a country with multi-field civil aviation strength as we welcome the centennial of the founding of the CPC and the 14th Five-Year Plan.