China’s Civil Aviation Industry Grows Steadily in Q1 2026: International Market Leads Growth Momentum

China’s civil aviation industry maintained a steady growth momentum in the first quarter of 2026, with all core operational indicators achieving positive year-on-year growth, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The industry’s overall performance reflects the robust recovery of air transport and the continuous enhancement of its role in serving economic and social development.

In Q1 2026, the civil aviation industry completed a total transport turnover of 42.8 billion ton-kilometers, 200 million passenger trips and 2.452 million tons of cargo and mail transport, representing year-on-year increases of 10.9%, 6.5% and 9.3% respectively. Notably, the international market maintained rapid growth, with the year-on-year growth rates of passenger and cargo transport on international routes reaching 10.0% and 17.6% respectively, becoming a key driver of the industry’s growth.

People’s Network reports that the domestic and international markets grew steadily in the first quarter, with the international market showing a particularly prominent growth momentum. Of the total transport turnover, domestic routes accounted for 26.39 billion ton-kilometers, a year-on-year increase of 7.2%, while international routes contributed 16.41 billion ton-kilometers, a year-on-year surge of 17.5%. The proportion of international transport scale reached 38.3%, an increase of 2.1 percentage points compared with the same period last year.

In the passenger transport market, the industry completed 200 million passenger trips in total. Domestic routes handled 180 million passenger trips, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%, while international routes carried 20.819 million passengers, up 10.0% year-on-year. The steady growth of passenger transport was supported by the optimized flight network, as CAAC launched the 2026 summer-autumn flight schedule on March 29, with international flights increasing by 1.8% year-on-year and new direct routes to Cyprus added.

The cargo transport market also performed well, with a total of 2.452 million tons of cargo and mail transported. Domestic routes handled 1.347 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.3%, while international routes carried 1.105 million tons, a significant year-on-year growth of 17.6%. In terms of cargo volume and turnover, the proportion of international cargo transport reached 45.1% and 80.3% respectively, up 3.2 and 2.3 percentage points year-on-year, indicating that the international market is the main driving force behind the rapid growth of air cargo.

Transport airports operated stably in the first quarter, completing 392 million passenger throughput, 5.203 million tons of cargo and mail throughput, and 2.996 million takeoff and landing sorties, with year-on-year increases of 6.3%, 6.2% and 1.4% respectively. The industry’s regular flight load factor and regular flight load factor reached 86.0% and 72.8% respectively, up 2.2 and 1.7 percentage points year-on-year, reflecting improved operational efficiency.

Li Jia, an analyst at China Civil Aviation Development Research Institute, said, "The steady growth of China’s civil aviation industry in Q1 is closely related to the optimized flight layout and the continuous recovery of market demand. The rapid growth of the international market not only expands the industry’s development space but also strengthens China’s connection with the global air transport network."