(Yicai) May 7 -- International air ticket prices in China fell by nearly one-third during the five-day Labor Day holiday this year, thanks to the gradual recovery of international routes.

Prices for international air tickets in China dropped 27 percent to an average of CNY2,330 (USD323) per economy class ticket between May 1 and May 5 from a year earlier, according to data from online travel agency Dast.

Among the top 20 international routes during the Labor Day holiday in China, 11 saw their average daily flight volume increase from the same period in 2019, according to Dast data. For example, the daily average volume of flights from Shanghai, Kunming, and Chengdu to Bangkok surged over 20 percent.

The top three destinations in terms of international flight volume were South Korea, Japan, and Thailand during the Labor Day holiday.

In terms of recovery rate, the daily average flight volume between China and South Korea was 85 percent, and that between China and Singapore was 99 percent. Flights to and from the United Arab Emirates exceeded the figure from the same period in 2019.

Domestic air tickets were also cheaper this year’s Labor Day holiday. According to Dast, the average ticket price for economy class tickets for domestic flights fell 22 percent from a year earlier and 0.9 percent from the same period in 2019.

Last year’s Labor Day holiday was the first after the easing of Covid-19 pandemic prevention and control measures, so the demand was particularly high, Lin Zhijie, a civil aviation insider, told Yicai. Due to the recent weather, more tourists chose to travel by high-speed rail and car this year, Lin added.

Nearly 86,000 flights were operated in China during the Labor Day holiday, with the average daily figure up 7.5 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively, from the same periods last year and in 2019, data released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China showed yesterday.

Editor: Futura Costaglione