Spring Festival to see 35.5m plane trips

BEIJING - As many as 35.5 million plane trips will be made in China during the six-week Spring Festival travel period, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) forecast on Thursday.

The Spring Festival travel period spans from Jan 26 to March 6, during which airports are expected to deal with a combined passenger volume of 35.5 million, up 5.2 percent year on year, according to Xia Xinghua, deputy head of the CAAC.

The CAAC vowed to make every effort to ensure safe and normal flights during the forthcoming travel period, urging its air traffic control departments to closely monitor complex weather conditions and issue early warnings.

The CAAC also called for airport public security departments to take decisive measures against passengers' violent illegal actions that disrupt normal airport operations.

Spring Festival, the most prominent holiday of the Chinese for family gathering and travel, falls on Feb 10 this year.