BEIJING: China’s air passenger numbers rose 37.7% year-on-year to nearly 180 million trips in the first quarter, marking the highest first-quarter passenger volume ever.

The number is 10.2% higher than in the first quarter of 2019, the year before the pandemic, state-owned CCTV said on Tuesday.

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In March, the civil aviation industry completed a total of 54.73 million passenger trips, representing a 25.7% year-on-year growth and a 7.3% increase compared to the same period in 2019.