Millions Fly With China’s Airlines as Pandemic Drags on Others
- Golden Week expected to boost domestic passenger traffic
- Air travel recovery accelerating from deep trough in February
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The world’s harried airline bosses will look enviously to China this week as millions of people take to the skies for national holidays, helping Chinese carriers push even further ahead in their recovery from the pandemic.
The holiday starts with the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day on Thursday and runs to Oct. 8. The so-called Golden Week is typically a time for families to reunite and will add momentum to a domestic rebound that’s lifting air travel within China back toward usual levels. More than 15 million people are due to fly over the period, a 10% increase from last year, according to Lan Xiang, head of the research division at online travel agent Qunar.