Photo: GT

Chinese travelers are expected to make more overseas trips as the downgrading management of COVID-19 officially took effect on Sunday, when the inbound quarantine for international arrivals is canceled while outbound travel of Chinese citizens will also be resumed in an orderly manner.

The order numbers for international flights recorded a year-on-year growth of 628 percent, reaching the highest since March, 2020, data from online travel agency LY.com showed on Sunday. 

Among the surging orders, the numbers of inbound and outbound flights account for 48 percent and 52 percent respectively, per the data. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region becomes the top one destination for inbound tickets on Sunday, with flight orders from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland rose 62 per cent from the previous day. 

Data from domestic online travel agency Qunar showed that the flight booking from the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong between December 27 and January 7 increased by 3.8 times month-on-month following the official announcement of downgrading management on December 26, the company told the Global Times on Sunday. 

CZ312 of China Southern Airlines, departed from Toronto in Canada, arrived in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province on 12:16 am, Sunday, marking the first international flight landed in China, the company said in a statement sent to the Global Times. 
Responsible authorities, airline carriers and airports have been stepping up efforts, aiming to embrace the surging in traffic again. 

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the country's civil aviation regulator, announced on Friday that international flights can directly land in Beijing starting on Sunday without being redirected to other entry points. Some 18 international flights are expected to arrive in Beijing on Sunday. 

In January, the China Eastern Airlines plans to increase its weekly international passenger routes to 48, with 184 flights, the company said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Saturday. 

The nation's civil aviation industry has been embracing a surging vitality since the beginning of the new year. The flight volume of Loong Air surpassed the level of the same period in 2019, the recovery rate of flights between Beijing and Sanya reached 122 percent, and Air China also recovered several international routes during the just passed New Year holidays, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

Global Times