BEIJING, March 20 -- China's civil aviation sector handled nearly 68.31 million passenger trips in February, up 11 percent year on year, official data showed on Friday.

Data released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China showed that domestic air routes handled 61.44 million passenger trips last month, up 10.5 percent from a year earlier, while international air routes handled 6.86 million passenger trips, up 15.6 percent year on year.

In terms of cargo and mail transport, the sector handled 740,000 tonnes in February, an increase of 22.3 percent from the same period last year.

Of the total, domestic air routes transported 408,000 tonnes of cargo and mail, up 21.2 percent year on year, while international air routes handled 332,000 tonnes, up 23.8 percent.