Civil aviation readies for record rush

China's civil aviation sector is bracing for a record Spring Festival travel rush, driven by strong demand for family reunions, tourism and student travel, industry officials said in Beijing on Monday.

The Spring Festival holiday travel period, known as chunyun, will run for 40 days from Feb 2 to March 13. During that time, civil aviation passenger volume is projected to reach about 95 million trips, averaging 2.38 million per day, up about 5.3 percent year-on-year, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

This holiday travel rush is the world's largest annual human migration. In recent years, around 9 billion passenger trips have been recorded across all modes of transport during the 40-day period, underscoring both the cultural importance of the holiday and the scale of China's transportation system.

Wang Weijun, deputy director of the CAAC's department of transport, said traditional travel for returning home, visiting relatives and student travel, combined with robust holiday tourism demand, is expected to further boost air travel.

"The combination of traditional travel for family reunions, student travel and strong holiday tourism demand is expected to further release aviation travel potential during the Spring Festival period,"Wang said at a news conference.

This year's Spring Festival falls on Feb 17, with a nine-day public holiday from Feb 15 to 23. Peak travel periods before and after the holiday are expected to overlap with the extended break, concentrating passenger flows, particularly for students and migrant workers returning after the festival.

Based on airlines' preliminary flight schedules, China's civil aviation sector is expected to operate about 780,000 flights during the travel period, or roughly 19,400 flights per day, up about 5 percent from last year. The expanded capacity is expected to provide strong support for passenger demand, Wang said.

Passenger traffic is expected to peak twice, before and after the Spring Festival holiday. Because the festival comes later this year, return travel after the holiday is expected to be more crowded, with single-day passenger volume potentially reaching 2.6 million, the CAAC said.

Tourism-related travel is also gaining momentum, supported by the longer holiday and easier cross-border travel.

To support the travel rush, the CAAC has coordinated flight capacity across the industry. Airlines will add services to major domestic hubs and popular tourist destinations, while increasing international flights to neighboring countries and key inbound markets based on demand.

Separately, China has recently introduced two standards to strengthen safety oversight of civil unmanned aircraft, or drones. At the news conference, Chen Ye, deputy director of the CAAC's aircraft airworthiness department, outlined requirements for real-name registration and activation, and operational identification.

The standards are designed to ensure drones operate legally, are traceable and can be effectively monitored. "Only when unmanned aircraft can be reliably identified and monitored can they be effectively managed," Chen said.

The real-name registration and activation standards establish standardized procedures and technical systems to make registration more convenient for drone owners, while requiring manufacturers to develop systems that support these functions.

The measures are intended to curb illegal flights and safeguard public safety and airspace order.

Under the operational identification standard, all civil unmanned aircraft operating in public airspace must actively broadcast key information throughout their flight, including identity, position, speed and operational status.

The CAAC said the standards provide important technical support for implementing China's low-altitude aviation regulations and lay a solid foundation for the safe, orderly and high-quality development of the unmanned aircraft sector.

luowangshu@chinadaily.com.cn