China's aviation industry lost $4.9 billion in second quarter

China's aviation industry suffered a 34.25-billion-yuan (4.9 billion U.S. dollars) loss in the second quarter, slightly narrower than in the first quarter, according to data released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on Friday.

In the first quarter, the industry, which includes airlines, airports and other aviation companies, lost 38.1 billion yuan.

Airlines flew a total of 30.74 million passengers last month, down 42.4 percent year on year. The decline narrowed 10.2 percentage points from May, the CAAC said.

In the first half of the year, air passenger numbers hit 150 million, equivalent to 45.8 percent of the volume during the same period last year.

China's aviation industry has been recovering faster than most countries emerging from the COVID lockdowns, underpinned by a steady recovery in the domestic travel market after the epidemic was largely brought under control.

To boost cashflows, a few Chinese airlines recently rolled out discount passes that would allow passengers unlimited domestic travel with few restrictions. China Eastern Airlines is the first in June to sell "fly at will" flight passes for unlimited weekend domestic travel until the end of the year.

The deal was met with great consumer enthusiasm and more airlines followed suit. Hainan Airlines this month offered consumers flight passes that would enable them to make unlimited trips to or from Hainan island, a popular tropical tourist spot.

The CAAC also adjusted policies for international passenger flights in early June, allowing more foreign carriers to resume flights to China on a once-a-week basis starting from June 8.

China may "modestly increase" flights from some qualified countries provided risks are controlled and adequate receiving capacities are in place, the CAAC said.

Meanwhile, air cargo volume fell 5.8 percent year on year to 578,000 tonnes last month, compared with a 12-percent decrease in May.

(With input from Reuters.)