China's air travel rises 24% during week-long holiday

BEIJING - China's civil aviation industry welcomed a boom during the seven-day national holiday that ended on Oct 7 as 5.75 million trips were made by air during the time, up 24 percent year on year, government figures show.

The booming air travel also saw a 5.3-percent increase in the number of flights during the time, which hit 39,112, a statement on the website of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said on Oct 8.

China's big cities including Beijing and Shanghai both saw over 100,000 passengers leaving for other destinations by air on Oct 1, according to the statement.

More than 95,000 passengers had departed from Beijing Capital International Airport each day during the holiday, the CAAC statement said.

Meanwhile, the ratio of seat occupancy of flights (figures calculated from 52 cities in China) reached 81.49 percent during the time, up 13.1 percent compared to the same period last year, the statement said.