Air passenger traffic up 9.2% in 2012

The growth of China's civil aviation industry slowed over the past two years, after booming in 2009 and 2010.

The volume of air passenger traffic was 318.99 million person-trips in 2012, an increase of 9.2 percent year-on-year, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on Jan 23.

Passenger traffic growth in 2012 was almost the same as in 2011, but it rose far less than the 20 percent growth seen in 2009.

Total air passenger and freight transport increased by 6.1 percent year-on-year in 2012 to 60.82 billion ton-km , according to the administration.

Despite the figures, some analysts remain optimistic about the industry's prospects in 2013.

"Demand for air transport will recover gradually and its growth will remain faster than the increase in airlines' capabilities," Sinolink Securities said in its report.