China's commercial transport fleet exceeds 3,600

BEIJING -- China has seen a constant fast growth in the civil aviation industry with the commercial transport fleet reaching 3,639 by the end of 2018, said statistics released by civil aviation authorities.

The figure was 343 more than that at the end of 2017, said the latest civil aviation industry development statistical bulletin released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

In 2018, Chinese air carriers conducted a total of 11.53 million flight hours, an 8.9 percent year-on-year increase.

Among them, 9.34 million flights hours were realized on China's domestic air routes, an 8.4 percent year-on-year increase. More than 2.19 million flight hours were achieved on the international routes, a 10.8 percent year-on-year increase.

China is now the world's second-largest civil aviation market. It is expected to become the world's largest by the mid-2020s, according to forecasts by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).