BEIJING — China saw an uptick in the recovery of its civil air transport sector in April, setting a new monthly record for the number of domestic air passenger trips, official data shows.

The country's domestic air passenger trips reached 51.09 million in April, soaring 205.5 percent from a year earlier, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said on May 14. 

The number set a new monthly record since the start of 2020. It represents 96.2 percent of the level seen in the same period in 2019, accelerating from 89.4 percent in March.

The cargo and mail transportation volume was approximately 655,000 metric tons in April, up 35 percent over the same period last year. The volume represents a 9 percent growth from the same period in 2019, quickening from the 3.7 percent growth in March.

The total transportation turnover was 9.21 billion ton-kilometers, up 132.8 percent year-on-year, or about 87.7 percent of the level seen in April 2019.

The CAAC expects the punctuality rate of domestic airlines to stay above 80 percent for this year, the association said.

Zero safety accidents were recorded in the sector last month. The sector achieved 985,000 flight hours in April, up 133.3 percent year-on-year.

By the end of April, China's civil air transport sector had registered 92.69 million safe flight hours and safely facilitated 4.77 billion passenger trips, the data shows.