China will significantly increase direct flights between China and the United States
According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China on the 4th, in 2023, the entire civil aviation industry completed a total transportation turnover of 118.83 billion tons per kilometer, a passenger transportation volume of 620 million people, and a cargo and mail transportation volume of 7.354 million tons, an increase of 98.3%, 146.1%, and 21% year-on-year, respectively, and recovered to 91.9%, 93.9%, and 97.6% in 2019.
The 2024 National Civil Aviation Work Conference held in Beijing on the 4th pointed out that civil aviation will strengthen international cooperation and accelerate the recovery of the international market in 2024. Civil aviation will implement the results of the China US summit and promote a significant increase in direct flights between China and the United States; Actively expand the national navigation rights arrangement jointly built with the "the Belt and Road", and deepen project cooperation with Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and other regions; Improve the efficiency of using existing third and fourth air rights resources, and support airlines to make good use of overseas fifth air rights according to the needs of route network expansion; Promote the optimization of visa and entry and exit policies, improve the level of customs clearance facilitation, and enhance the efficiency of international flight entry and exit.
The rapid recovery of China's civil aviation industry also reflects the global trend of industry recovery. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently estimated that 4.7 billion people will travel in 2024, reaching a historic high. IATA also predicts that the freight volume for 2023 and 2024 will be 58 million tons and 61 million tons, respectively.
Zhang Ying, the head of the CADAS Shanghai team at Feiyou Technology, stated in an interview with Global Times that the development of civil aviation has returned to natural growth, and it is expected that China's civil aviation will enter a new round of development cycle. In the future, the recovery of the international market will become the focus, and the recovery of markets in the Asia Pacific region and the "the Belt and Road" countries may be the main force for the recovery of international flights.
Although the global aviation industry is gradually recovering from the pandemic, the Asia Pacific region still faces challenges. The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong recently reported that factors hindering industry recovery include slow border reopening, flight interruptions, delayed aircraft deliveries, shortages of existing fleet components, and severe shortages of professional aviation labor. During the epidemic, there was a significant loss of personnel including pilots, ground crew, and crew members. Training new pilots may take 3-4 years. Aviation management consulting firm Aowei Consulting predicts that between 2022 and 2024, the demand for pilots in most regions will exceed supply, posing challenges for further growth in the aviation industry.