China's aviation industry gains RMB 9.1 bln in Jan-Sep

Oct. 20, 2009 (China Knowledge) - China's civil aviation industry recorded profits of RMB 9.1 billion in the period from January to September of this year despite weak demand amid the global financial crisis, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on Saturday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Information from the CAAC showed that domestic air passenger traffic volume rose 23.6% year on year in the first nine months, and that the passenger volume of small airports in the first six months grew 26.7% year on year to 14.87 million.

The more balanced economic development of China's different regions in recent years was the major contributor to the vibrant performance of small airports and regional air routes, Li Jiaxiang, director of the CAAC, said at the 2009 China International General Aviation Convention in Shaanxi Province.

By the end of 2008, China had 116 small airports. Seventy-three percent of the airports in China are small airports that handle less than a million passengers a year.

In July, Li said that China's domestic aviation passenger transportation volume was likely to grow more than 20% in 2009 as the peak season from July to September would further boost the civil aviation market, China Knowledge reported earlier.