BEIJING, July 10  -- Passengers traveling with Chinese airlines made 186 million trips in the first half of 2014, up 10.7 percent year on year, figures from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) showed on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the aviation sector witnessed a surge in freight transport volume, with the period's air cargo volume up 6 percent year on year to 2.79 million tonnes.

Li Jiaxiang, head of the CAAC, stressed aviation safety at a work meeting held here on Thursday and urged greater efforts to reform the sector to unleash market potential.

Li also said China will improve air travel services and the punctuality of flights.