(Yicai Global) Feb. 9 -- SF Airlines, operator of China’s biggest air freight fleet, and low-cost passenger airline 9 Air were among five Chinese carriers that were able to turn a profit last year despite the civil aviation sector running up losses of CNY84.3 billion (USD13.2 billion) due to the ongoing impact on travel by the Covid-19 pandemic.

SF Airlines, YTO Cargo Airlines and China Postal Airlines, all freight transporters, were profitable as they were able to rely on their parent firms for their source of business, according to a report by the Civil Aviation Administration of China released last month.

While 9 Air, owned by private airline Juneyao Airlines, and Colorful Guizhou Airlines, a state-owned carrier for the southwestern province of Guizhou which has 16 planes, also managed to stay in the black through creative cost cutting and other means.

There were 30 airports, including those in Xiamen and Fuzhou in southeastern Fujian province, Sanya and Haikou in southern Hainan province and Guiyang in southwestern Guizhou province, that turned a profit last year, the report said.

Of these, 17 were old established airports that had been in operation for more than 20 years. It was also easier for smaller airports to make money than large ones. Seventeen of the profitable airports had an annual throughput of less than two million passengers.

Both airlines and airports have benefited from increased financial support from the central government in the form of tax reductions and better access to credit. Some local governments also subsidized certain air routes.

Around 3.4 billion passengers are expected to fly this year, reaching 93 percent of pre-pandemic levels, the International Air Transport Association said. And the international market is expected to recover strongly in the second half as the use of masks, higher vaccine rates and new drugs help combat the virus, according to industry insiders.

Editor: Kim Taylor