Geopolitics, Lack of Manpower Fuel Turbulent Revival for China’s International Air Travel

More than three months after China reopened its borders, international travel is still lagging far behind pre-Covid levels.

With the exception of a handful of destinations in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, recovery of international commercial air travel to and from the Chinese mainland has been patchy and below expectations.

During the seven days from March 20, the number of international flights was just 19% of the traffic in the same period of 2019, according to data platform Flight Master. Industry consensus expected levels to rebound to around 30%.