(Yicai Global) Jan. 4 -- Chinese airlines are preparing to cancel fuel surcharges on flight tickets from tomorrow, just two months after reinstating them, to encourage more people to fly during the upcoming week-long Chinese New Year holiday.

The waiving of the fees will save passengers between CNY10 (USD1.60) and CNY20 per ticket depending on the length of their flight, Yicai Global learned from a number of travel agencies today.

Carriers had only just brought back the fuel surcharge on Nov. 5, after a two-year hiatus when oil prices were low. But prices have been on the rise since May 2020, reaching CNY4,655 (USD728) per ton in October.

The travel rush for the Spring Festival, when hundreds of millions of workers return home to celebrate the lunar new year with their families, will start on Jan. 17 and last until Feb. 25, the Ministry of Transport said.

This year’s passenger volume is likely to be more than double than that of last year, when only 870 million people made trips by air, rail or road after the government urged them not to return home to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus, it added.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor