(Yicai Global) Dec. 29 -- The number of domestic passenger flights booked for the upcoming New Year’s holiday jumped along with air fares after China eased its Covid-19 restrictions.

Flight bookings for Dec. 31 to Jan. 2 have risen 30 percent a day since Dec. 19, The Paper reported today, citing data from travel agency Qunar.Com. The most popular destinations are Chengdu, Beijing, Sanya, Shanghai, Haikou, Chongqing, Kunming, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Xi'an.

The average price of a one-way ticket during the New Year’s holiday increased 28 percent to CNY823 (USD118) as of Dec. 27 from a year earlier, according to online travel agency Trip.Com, the report added.

As China lifted travel restrictions earlier this month, domestic passenger flights have gradually recovered. There were 6,139 flights on Dec. 27, equal to 52 percent of the average daily volume in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, data from Flight Manager showed.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China plans to resume domestic air transport in phases. Average daily flight volume should recover to 70 percent of the pre-pandemic level by Jan. 6 and to 88 percent by the end of next month, followed by a period of stable upturn, The Paper noted.

Editor: Martin Kadiev