China's civil aviation sector achieves steady growth in 2025

China's civil aviation industry maintained stable development in 2025, with key indicators all recording solid growth, according to data released Tuesday at a national civil aviation work conference.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) announced that the industry had achieved a total transportation turnover of 164.08 billion tonne-km in 2025, a 10.5-percent year-on-year increase.

Passenger traffic reached 770 million in 2025, up 5.5 percent from the previous year, CAAC data revealed. Cargo and mail volume hit 10.17 million tonnes, an increase of 13.3 percent year on year.

At the work conference, Song Zhiyong, head of the CAAC, said the industry had maintained an overall steady development trend in 2025, with key objectives and tasks completed.

According to Song, the international passenger traffic jumped by 21.6 percent year on year in 2025, with volumes to Central Asia, West Asia, Africa and Latin America up 59.3 percent, 33.4 percent, 39 percent and 108.6 percent, respectively, last year.

The industry achieved a combined profit of 6.5 billion yuan (about 926.28 million U.S. dollars) in 2025, reflecting better business performance.

Looking ahead, Song projected that the industry would achieve a transport turnover of 175 billion tonne-km, passenger traffic of 810 million, and cargo and mail volume of 10.7 million tonnes in 2026. ■