Airlines lift China international flight capacity as border opens

A couple with child watch a Cathay Pacific airliner taxing at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. Travelers crossing between Hong Kong and mainland China, however, are still required to show a negative COVID-19 test taken within the last 48 hours, a measure China has protested when imposed by other countries. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

BEIJING: Airlines have boosted January international seat capacity to and from China by 9.5% over the last week as they ramp up flights after its border opening, according to aviation data provider Cirium, though flights remain at a fraction of pre-pandemic levels.

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd added more than 52,000 seats as its border with the mainland opened, putting it ahead of China’s Xiamen Airlines, Juneyao Airlines Co Ltd and others in the 160,000 round-trip seat additions, schedules data from Cirium analysed by Reuters showed.