Chinese airlines, airports gear up for Golden Week travel rush

Chinese airlines are increasing flights and destinations for the coming Golden Week, and the airports are seeing a surge in travelers.

Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) is expected to handle approximately 1.33 million passenger trips, with an average of 166,200 per day, and a total of 8,859 flights will be handled, with an average of 1,107 flights per day.

In terms of the international aviation market, BCIA will have 73 international destinations, covering 47 countries and regions on five continents, with an average of more than 130 international flights per day and more than 35 intercontinental routes, ranking first among domestic airports.

China Southern Airlines said it plans to arrange 3,000 extra flights from Wednesday to October 8 to meet the rising demand. The company plans to fly 2,200 flights per day on domestic routes, and it will also arrange extra flights for routes to Southeast Asia.

Data from industry information provider VariFlight showed that the number of civil aviation flights across the country is expected to exceed that of the same period in 2019, and may reach a new record high.

Domestic routes are expected to see more than 100,000 passenger flights, and overseas routes are expected to have more than 11,000 passenger flights.

The top three most popular domestic routes are Beijing-Shanghai, Shanghai-Shenzhen, and Shanghai-Guangzhou, and the top three outbound destinations are Hong Kong, Seoul and Osaka.

A daily average of 1.58 million entry and exit trips are expected during the holidays, up 300 percent from 2022 and reaching 90 percent of the 2019 level, thepaper.cn reported, citing data provided by the National Immigration Administration on Wednesday.