By XUE Bingbing
Flights to and from China are taking off for the first full summer and autumn seasons starting March 26, since Covid control measures were lifted late last year. The sky’s the limit again for China’s tourists, with international flights set to soar.
Bookings until the end of June are up more than six-fold with Thailand, Japan and Singapore as the top destinations.
The price of tickets has fallen sharply, led by Singapore. A round trip from Guangzhou to Changi Airport, now costs as little as 1200 yuan (US$170), that around a quarter of the price at the beginning of February. During the May Day holiday, a direct flight costs 2,402 yuan, less than the price of many domestic destinations.
As flights to Australia, Japan, and South Korea increase, ticket prices will continue to fall. A direct flight between Tianjin and Tokyo is 2,572 yuan on April 16, with Beijing to Tokyo another 500 yuan. That’s a fifth of the price in March.
Beijing’s Capital Airport still reaches only 54 international destinations with around 75 international passenger flights per day. That’s 50 percent up on last season, but still very small numbers.
Air China alone plans to an average of 100 flights each day out of Beijing. China Southern said it will operate more than 730 flights per week across that country, with more than 400 passing through Guangzhou. Flights from Guangzhou bound for Bali, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Sabah, and Siem Reap have either resumed or will resume soon.
Spring Airlines' international flights increased have increased by 50 percent since February, but remain at a woeful 40 percent of 2019’s level.
As summer and autumn approaches, there are bound to be problems dispatching more international flights. After three years of Covid-19, nearly half of the ground service staff at check-in counters and boarding gates have been lost.
