China is slowly getting back on its feet. Chinese airports, which saw a 72 percent year-to-year drop in flights this February, are opening up again.

A virus that was first reported in China on December 31, 2019, has already killed over half a million people globally. In what could be described as a serious oversight, China continued to allow air travel – both domestic as well as international – a full month after the outbreak. By then, over 9000 people had already been infected in 19 different countries.

Gradual grounding of domestic flights followed suit. Several countries trimmed down all airline operations to and from China massively. Come to the end of January, countries like the US, UK, and Italy pulled the plug entirely. Indian carriers, too, suspended their flights to China from early February. Aviation statistics showed a 72 percent year-to-year drop in February’s domestic and international flights in China.

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Getting back on track

As China’s COVID-19 curve flattened, its aviation slowly opened up. Domestic flights to and from the epicentre province of Hubei were restored by the end of March. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) reported over a million passengers on June 5, crossing the million mark for the first time since January 28.

Health Analytics Asia runs the numbers behind China’s air traffic in the first half of the year.

The resumption of domestic flights began early for China. By the end of June 2020, domestic commercial aviation has already bounced back to over 80 percent of its pre-pandemic numbers.

The improvement in international flight numbers, however, has been significantly slower. The CAAC, on June 4, issued a notice allowing 37 of China’s airports to serve as entry points for international passengers. The list included Wuhan’s airport as well.

Surviving stormy weather

The resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Beijing didn’t augur well for the revival of international aviation. The capital city, in lockdown again, had all inbound international flights diverted, starting June 8. The Beijing Capital International Airport, consequently, saw a drop in traffic share from 9 percent on June 1 to under 3 percent on June 30. In fact, total flight traffic at the airport on June 25 stood at 227, the lowest of 2020 so far.

A fall in traffic share is felt across all Chinese airports. China contributed to nearly 12 percent of global flights in the first half of 2019. This year, however, the figure stands at a meagre 2.56 percent.

The world’s most populous nation did not adopt a blanket lockdown approach against the pandemic. Flights did reduce, but only in a regulatory manner. The lowest single-day traffic count in 2020 so far is a substantial 2201. Recent CAAC guidelines pertain to gradual ramping up of operations towards normalcy. Major foreign carriers, too, look to restart operations to Chinese destinations. Lufthansa and Delta have already begun flying to Shanghai, while United plans to resume operations on San Fransisco to the Shanghai sector from July 6, 2020.