(Yicai Global) Feb. 16 -- Chinese aviation stocks surged after airlines revealed rebounding passenger traffic for last month, a peak travel period due to the Chinese New Year holiday, and eased travel restrictions.

Air China's Shanghai-listed stock [SHA: 601111] closed 1.5 percent up at CNY10.80 (USD1.60) after jumping as much as 4.7 percent intraday. Its Hong Kong-listed equity [HK: 0753] closed 2.3 percent up.

Mainland-listed shares of China Eastern Airlines [SHA: 600115] closed up 0.2 percent at CNY5.41 (US 80 cents) following a 3.3 percent uptick intraday while its Hong Kong equity [HKG: 0670] ended 2.9 percent higher.

In January, passenger turnover of Air China and its subsidiaries moved up by 58 percent from a year ago and more than doubled from December 2022, the Beijing-based company said in a statement yesterday. International passenger volumes soared more than five times from a year earlier and rose 23 percent from December.

China Eastern said that its domestic passenger turnover increased by 39 percent last month year over year, the Shanghai-based firm said in a statement yesterday. Its international figure almost quadrupled. For China Southern Airlines, the domestic number rose by 40 percent YoY and the international one almost tripled.

Tourists are on the move again after China scrapped its mandatory quarantine requirements for international travelers on Jan. 8. And airlines are in a dire need of recovery. China's three major state-owned airlines suffered a combined net loss exceeding CNY100 billion (USD14.6 billion) in 2022, according to their earnings reports.

Budget airlines were recovering even quicker as Spring Airlines logged a more than 15-fold boost in international passenger turnover and Juneyao Airlines recorded an over sixfold increase.

Customers are having more options. From Feb. 28, China Eastern will operate 60 routes with 410 flights per week to destinations such as Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. It was running 52 routes, with 302 flights per week as of Feb. 6, according to public data.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi