(Yicai Global) April 28 -- The number of people travelling by air over the upcoming week-long Labor Day break in China is expected to plummet 77 percent from the year before as a slew of Covid-19 outbreaks across the country dent people’s ability and willingness to travel, an official at the Civil Aviation Administration of China said today.

Around two million people are expected to travel by air over the public holiday based on current ticket bookings, said Liang Nan, director of CAAC’s department of transport. In the first quarter, air passenger traffic sank 25.3 percent year on year to 76.2 million people. Airlines’ punctuality rate was 96.6 percent over the period.

Air freight dropped 9.5 percent to 1.6 million tons of goods and mail in the first quarter, but is now picking up again, said Wu Shijie, deputy director of the CAAC’s Office of Aviation Safety.

Shanghai’s hard lockdown, now in its fifth week, impeded the transfer and collection of imported goods at Shanghai Pudong International Airport and efficiency at freight depots dropped, Liang said. Throughput capacity has improved since the beginning of the month. And the CAAC has introduced a ‘green pass’ that will give priority to the collection of chips and other urgently needed supplies arriving at the airport.

Other major air freight hubs in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhengzhou are running smoothly, Liang said.

Editor: Kim Taylor