BEIJING, May 17 -- China recorded more than 55.95 million air passenger trips in April, a surge of 10.6 percent year on year, data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) showed Friday.

The civil aviation sector's total transport turnover topped 11.38 billion tonne-kilometers last month, up 21.6 percent from a year earlier and 8.3 percent from the pre-pandemic April of 2019, Li Yong, an official with the CAAC, told a press conference.

Some 684,000 tonnes of cargo and mail were transported by air, up 25.3 percent year on year and up 13.9 percent from April 2019.

In March, passenger trips totaled 54.73 million, up 25.7 percent year on year, and cargo transport hit some 708,000 tonnes, up 28.2 percent year on year.