(Yicai Global) July 1 -- China’s international flights were 61 percent lower in the first three weeks of June compared with a year earlier because despite airlines opening up more routes there was a big increase in the number of inbound flights that triggered so-called circuit-breaker suspensions.

There were almost 1,380 international passenger flights to and from China between June 1 and 19, according to data from Flight Manager, a mobile app developed by Shenzhen-based Huo Li Tian Hui Technology. That was an average of 72.6 a day, compared with 80.4 in the eight weeks from April 24 to June 19, which was itself down from 185.2 a year earlier.

Air China, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, and other domestic carriers have started to reopen more overseas routes since last month after an executive meeting of the State Council, China’s cabinet, said in May that the number of international passenger flights could begin to increase in an orderly fashion.

On June 1, the Civil Aviation Administration of China also relaxed the circuit breaker. Routes will be suspended only if five or more passengers on the same inbound flight test positive within five days of landing, down from the previous seven days.

But cases are becoming more common with new variants, and so are the number of suspended routes. Eighty-two flights were canceled in the first two weeks of June after 32 triggered the circuit breaker. Both figures were three times those of a year ago.

Still, demand is picking up as travel restrictions are eased. Ticket reservations on bookings platform Qunar.Com jumped almost 60 percent on the same period a week earlier after the State Council halved the quarantine period for international travelers on June 28. International travelers now need to complete seven days of mandatory quarantine plus three days of health monitoring at home, compared with the previous 14 days and 7 days.

The change reflects the shorter incubation period of the omicron variant, civil aviation expert Lin Zhijie told Yicai Global after the State Council’s decision. A shorter quarantine period will make foreign travel easier and spur the aviation sector’s recovery, he said.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi