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Asia Pacific
Earthquake and fuel prices spell trouble for Chinese aviation
Chinese air travel is suffering for the first time since the SARS outbreak in 2003 because of the Sichuan earthquake, tighter visa restrictions, rocketing fuel prices and bad weather.
Both the region’s biggest international carrier Air China and the country’s largest domestic carrier China Southern Airlines are seeing passenger numbers fall, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.
Air China monthly passenger numbers for both domestic and international travel have dipped. In May last year both were seeing around 18% growth. This May growth stats were around minus 10%. China Southern Airlines says domestic passenger numbers fell by 0.1% in May – the first monthly reduction since the SARS outbreak.
Finnair also reports demand has dropped on Chinese routes, saying the earthquakes and restrictions on travel are the cause.
Airport Authority Hong Kong CEO Stanley Hui said the Sichuan earthquake was reducing Mainland people’s desire to travel, both internationally and to Hong Kong and the Authority would “continue to monitor the market closely in the coming monthsâ€.
The Olympic Games in August, however, may temporarily buoy the situation.
By Dinah Hatch
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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