BEIJING, Aug. 19 -- China's civil aviation transport continued to expand in July amid strong summer travel demand, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The total transport turnover of the sector was 11.37 billion tonne-kilometers last month, surging 67.1 percent from a year ago and exceeding the level recorded in the same period of 2019 for the first time, the CAAC said.

Nearly 62.43 million air passenger trips were handled in July, rising 83.7 percent year on year and setting a new monthly record for the civil aviation sector, data from the CAAC showed.

Of the total air passenger trips last month, passenger trips on domestic routes stood at about 59.08 million, up 12.1 percent from July 2019.