The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is planning for the aviation industry to break even in 2023 to cover up for the pandemic losses. Prior to pandemic, the Chinese aviation industry had been profitable for 11 consecutive years.
Song Zhiyong, Director General of CAAC, said: “We aim to log revenue of about 75% of the pre-pandemic level this year. The civil aviation industry lost $32 billion in 2022, more than the losses of the past two years combined, with eight airlines having asset indebtedness of over 100%.”
In China, the latest figures show the daily flight volume to be less than 3,000 at its lowest last year, at about 17.8% of pre-pandemic levels, while the total transportation turnover and passenger traffic were less than half of than in 2019.
Going ahead, with the control policy and epidemic prevention plan chalked out, the CAAC hopes the economy to rebound. With the upcoming Spring Festival from January 7, 2023 to February 15, 2023 the domestic operators have ramped up their operations to meet passenger demands. China Southern Airlines plans to operate over 100,000 flights in the period, the same as the volume in 2019.
The Chinese civil aviation industry might experience a temporary surge in traffic due to the Spring Festival but still has a long road to go to cover up or the COVID-19 pandemic induced losses.