According to preliminary statistics, during the Spring Festival (February 9 to February 15) in 2013, the number of airplane passenger totals 6.4 million, an increase of 18 percent.
In recent years, civil aviation has maintained a high growth rate; in 2006, the industry reported passenger traffic of 160 million, an increase of 15.5 percent over the previous year; the figure jumped 19.7 percent to 231 million in 2009, and reached 293 million in 2011.
Relatively backward central and western regions have also seen rapid development of the civil aviation industry.
Take Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport in Henan province for example. Its annual passenger throughput in 2012 was three times that of 2006. Passenger traffic during the Spring Festival travel is expected to reach 137 million this year, an increase of 7.5 percent. In recent years, the airport has seen more and more passengers during each Spring Festival: 614,600 people in 2008, an increase of 12.1 percent, 797,500 passengers in 2009, an increase of 29.8 percent; 962,900 passengers in 2010, an increase of 20.7 percent; 1,098,900 passengers in 2011, an increase of 14.1 percent; 1,274,200 passengers in 2012, an increase of 16 percent.
Henan is a large province of labor export. During the Spring Festival, transport is under pressure due to those return and leave home. In the past, it depends on the railway and road transport, but the airport now also started to serve an important role during this time of year.
Xinzheng Airport doubling the throughput in just a few years reflects the strong economic development, and also reflects the increase in people's income and the improvement of living standards.
The rapid development of civil aviation also reflects the changing lifestyles and consumption upgrade. With the continuous improvement of people's quality of life, more and more ordinary citizens have the desire to go to resort, enjoy long-distance travel, and even travel abroad; at the same time they have higher requirements for the travel quality. People also became more willing to choose convenient, comfortable civil aviation as a way to travel. Airplane is becoming the choice of ordinary people.
Source:People's Daily Online
Read the Chinese version:春运消费升级,飞机出行渐成常态
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