(Yicai Global) July 12 -- The operator of Shanghai's two international airports dismissed a rumor that all planes in and out of the city have been cancelled. The number of flights scheduled for today is not much different from yesterday, Shanghai Airport Authority told Yicai Global.

Rumors circulating on social media yesterday claimed that no flights would depart or arrive Shanghai today, and screenshots of travel apps purportedly showing cancellations were posted online early this morning.

A number of Shanghai-based airlines told Yicai Global that the city's air traffic has recovered a lot since June 1, when a two-month lockdown to contain a new outbreak of Covid-19 ended. But the number of flights is only near half of pre-pandemic levels, they added.

On July 1, Shanghai's Hongqiao and Pudong airports handled more than 100 flights, the most since June 1. The figure is half what it was in March, before the lockdown. In the first 20 days of June, only a small number of scheduled flights were flown, with the respective rates being 5.4 percent for Hongqiao and 6.6 percent for Pudong. 

This month, daily flight volume has remained above 10,000, recovering to about 64.5 percent of pre-pandemic levels, according to data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Though the market is picking up, new Covid-19 outbreaks are damping confidence in the sector’s recovery over the summer.

To help support the embattled sector, the CAAC said yesterday that it will inject a total of CNY11 billion (USD1.64 billion) into three state-owned airlines and an airport operator. It will pour CNY3 billion (USD446 million) into each of China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, and Air China, it announced at a press conference today.

The CAAC will also give CNY2 billion to Capital Airports Holding, which runs Beijing Capital International Airport. Moreover, the regulator has secured CNY150 billion (USD22.3 billion) of emergency loans for aviation companies after earlier this year securing CNY65.6 billion (USD9.75 billion) from financial institutions for airlines and airports.

The sector has wracked up losses approaching CNY300 billion since the initial Covid-19 outbreak, CAAC Director Song Zhiyong said during a conference call on July 9.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi