BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's civil aviation sector maintained steady operations in 2024, with the number of air passenger trips made last year estimated at a record 730 million, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said at a press conference on Friday.

The figure represents a year-on-year increase of 18 percent, according to CAAC official Shu Mingjiang.

It is estimated that the sector completed 13.81 million flight hours and 5.39 million flights in 2024, with those figures up 13.1 percent and 9.5 percent year on year.

Shu also said that China's civil aviation sector reported no accidents in 2024, and that the CAAC has worked to guard against security risks, improve emergency response efficiency and carry out special security inspections for the upcoming Spring Festival travel rush.

China's civil aviation sector is expected to handle a record 90 million passenger trips during the 2025 Spring Festival travel season, which will run from Jan. 14 to Feb. 22, according to the CAAC. ■