(Yicai Global) July 13 -- China's air passenger and cargo transport mostly recovered in the first six months of this year, surpassing expectations but staying in the red, according to the director general of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

The aviation sector in China rebounded in the first half of this year to near the level of the same period in 2019, Song Zhiyong said at a mid-year meeting held yesterday.

China's civil aviation sector transported 53.1 billion tonne-kilometers of freight, 284 million passengers, and 3.3 million tons of cargo and mail in the six months ended June 30, equal to 85 percent, 88 percent, and 93 percent of the same period figures in 2019, respectively, data from the CAAC showed. Each had a goal to rebound 75 percent set earlier this year.

Chinese airlines remained in the red in the first half, with high fuel prices and the Chinese yuan depreciation making business worse, according to data from the China Air Transport Association.

One of the reasons for the deficit was that international markets lagged in their recovery, and passenger volume on such routes in May was less than one-third of that in the same month of 2019, experts from the CATA noted. The full recovery of such markets can take until the end of next year, they added.

Many wide-body aircraft still operate in China, causing an oversupply as international markets have not fully recovered, managers from airlines told Yicai Global.

Another reason the aviation sector was at a loss is that the high-speed railway has taken many passengers away from airlines, especially from short-haul air routes, thanks to a better network and higher service efficiency. A third issue is that air cargo transport has an excessive transport capacity and brings in smaller profits after the three-year high-profit period ends.

Many industry insiders are optimistic about the aviation sector in the second half of this year, with its performance during the summer holidays so far being the second most profitable period for airlines, only behind the Chinese New Year holiday in late January.

The number of domestic passenger flights will jump 11 percent to an average of 13,600 per day during the summer holidays this year from the same period in 2019, the CAAC predicted, noting that passenger volume will rise 7 percent to more than 1.8 million.

Growing passenger demand has increased air ticket prices, with fairs to tourist attractions, including Xishuangbanna and Xi'an, soaring 20 to 30 percent this year from 2019, data from travel agency Qunar showed. Prices to some summer resorts were also undiscounted at the beginning of the summer break, which started on July 1.

Editor: Martin Kadiev