BEIJING — China's civil aviation industry handled 669,000 metric tons of air freight in January, up 10.5 percent year-on-year, according to the country's civil aviation authorities.

China's air cargo transport showed a sound growth momentum with increasing freight volume on both domestic and international routes, said the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

Notably, all-cargo freighters contributed 281,000 tons of air freight traffic in January, up 67.7 percent year-on-year, CAAC statistics showed.

In January, the country's air freight volume on domestic routes saw a 4.4 percent year-on-year increase, the first year-on-year positive growth since December 2019, the data added.

Air cargo traffic on international routes increased 24.7 percent year-on-year in January, marking the sector's third consecutive month of positive year-on-year growth.

Air cargo transport has played a crucial role in supporting the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and sustaining global supply chains.

China's civil aviation authorities and industry players at home and abroad have made concerted efforts to boost recovery and sustain the growth of the sector, which was hit hard by the pandemic.

The CAAC has introduced comprehensive measures to support the growth of the aviation logistics sector by simplifying approval procedures, offering more flight timetable choices and optimizing resource allocation.

In August 2020, the CAAC issued a new policy on airport slot allocation for cargo flights to boost the country's air logistics industry.

The policy was aimed at increasing the daily utilization of cargo airplanes and airport facilities, improving China's international air cargo capacity, and strengthening the aviation logistics sector.