BEIJING, April 20 -- China's civil aviation sector handled 66.63 million passenger trips in March, up 12.1 percent year on year, the country's civil aviation authority said on Monday.

Data released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China showed that passenger trips on domestic routes totaled 59.51 million in March, up 11.5 percent from a year earlier.

Passenger trips on international routes reached 7.12 million last month, increasing 17 percent year on year, according to the data.

In terms of cargo and mail transport, the sector handled 851,000 tonnes in March, up 4.2 percent from the same period last year.

Of the total, cargo and mail throughput on domestic routes stood at 458,000 tonnes, up 1.3 percent year on year, while that on international routes came in at 393,000 tonnes, rising 7.8 percent.