Photo taken on May 28, 2023 shows a C919, China's self-developed large passenger aircraft, getting ready for its first commercial flight in east China's Shanghai. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING — China's civil aviation sector handled 620 million passenger trips in 2023, up 146.1 percent from the previous year, and reaching 93.9 percent of the pre-pandemic level in 2019, official data showed.

Total transport turnover of this sector was 118.83 billion tonne-kilometers in 2023, an increase of 98.3 percent year-on-year, reaching 91.9 percent of the pre-pandemic level in 2019, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said in a statement on its website Friday.

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The sector transported 7.35 million tonnes of cargo and mail in 2023, up 21 percent year-on-year, returning to 97.6 percent of the figure recorded in 2019.

In 2023, total investment in fixed assets of China's civil aviation amounted to 115 billion yuan ($16.2 billion), exceeding 100 billion yuan for four consecutive years.