Passengers at the Beijing Daxing International Airport on October 11, 2023. Beijing Daxing International Airport achieves milestone with 30 million annual passenger trips. Photo: Li Hao

A total of 6,502 weekly passenger flights from 116 airlines were approved in the new flight season, linking 65 overseas markets, bringing the number of flights back to 70.7 percent of the 2019 level, Liang Nan, director of the CAAC's transport department, said on Friday during a regular press conference.

For cargo flights, 3,676 flights from 52 airliners have been approved for the new season, connecting 44 overseas markets, according to CAAC.

The flight schedule for the 2023/2024 winter and spring season will be implemented from October 29 to March 30, 2024.

During the new flight season, CAAC will take measures to support and encourage Chinese and foreign airlines to resume international flights to further facilitate international economic and trade cooperation and personnel exchanges between China and other countries. In particular, the CAAC will actively enhance the accessibility of flights to partner countries of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Liang said.

In fact, since the beginning of 2023, international passenger flights have continued to recover, and the number of weekly flights during the National Day holidays in early October increased to 56 percent of the pre-epidemic level in 2019, according to CAAC.

During the week ended on October 22, the number of international passenger flights returned to 51 percent of the 2019 level, connecting 61 overseas markets. Of these, the number of flights connecting 22 countries, including the UK, Italy and United Arab Emirates, has approached or exceeded pre-pandemic levels, according to CAAC.

In addition, new flights to Kuwait and Serbia have been approved compared with in 2019, Liang said.

China Southern Airlines told the Global Times on Friday that the company will accelerate flight resumption to Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia. 

The airline will also open new routes linking China and Central Asia, West Asia, the Middle East, Africa and other BRI partner countries.

The China Southern Airlines' China-ASEAN Expo-themed passenger plane jointly launched by the airliner and the China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat is unveiled in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on September 8, 2023 when it carried out its maiden flight from Nanning to Bangkok. Photo: VCG

During the 2023/2024 winter and spring season, more than 2,000 flights per week will be made on international and regional routes, an increase of more than 290 flights per week compared with the summer and autumn season, said China Southern Airlines.

Beijing Capital International Airport will increase the number of its international flight destinations to 73 cities, with two new destinations to San Francisco in the US and Baku in Azerbaijan in the new flight season, the airport told the Global Times on Friday.

The airport will increase flight frequencies to Frankfurt, London, Paris, Munich, Madrid, Dubai, Sydney, Auckland and other international destinations.