[photopress:air_Chinese_airlines.jpg,full,alignright]China’s air traffic continued to soar in 2007. There were 387.6 million passenger trips, up 16.8% from the previous year.
The General Administration of Civil Aviation said that international passenger traffic jumped by 17.5% to 38.3 million in 2007, while trips on domestic flights rose by 16.7% to 349.3 million.
Rises in oil prices and the rapid expansion of the shipping industry led to a slowing of growth in cargo and mail last year, which registered a 14.3% rise to 8.6 million tons, compared to 2006’s 19% rise.
The report said international journeys have become more attractive for Chinese travellers because of the appreciation of the yuan.
The spectacular growth in air travel has fueled a similar boom in airport construction to meet the demand, with around 100 new airports planned by 2020 at a cost of $60 billion.
Source: Hemscott