China's air cargo industry has recovered to close to the level in 2019 before the Covid-19 disruptions according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

As of the end of 2021, the country saw the volume of air cargo and parcels rise by 8.2% from a year ago to 7.32 million tonnes, a recovery of 97.2% of that in 2019, Xu Qing, a CAAC official, told a press conference.

The number of international cargo flights rose by 22% year on year to 200,000, including 69,000 flights by passenger aircraft refitted into cargo carriers.

More growth eyed in 2022

The civil aviation industry is expected to handle 7.8 million tonnes of cargo and parcels in 2022, Xu said as reported by China state media, further saying that efforts will be made to encourage air cargo companies to transform from single carriers into logistics integrators and enhance integrated logistics solutions.

The distribution of international routes will be optimized to accelerate the building of a safe and efficient logistics network and to better cope with risks stemming from Covid-19, Xu added.