China Air Travel Demand Surges as ‘Zero-Covid’ Winds Down

(Bloomberg) — China’s rapid unwinding of “zero-Covid” restrictions has spurred a sharp recovery in the world’s biggest domestic air-travel market, throwing a lifeline to the nation’s Big Three airlines, which have racked up billions of dollars of losses since the start of the pandemic.

Domestic flight activity jumped to around 65% of pre-pandemic levels Monday from just 22% Nov. 29, according to Chinese aviation data company VariFlight — the equivalent of several thousand flights per day returning to the sky. Ticket sales for the Lunar New Year period in late January also surged, China Aviation Daily reported Monday, citing online travel portal Qunar.com data.