BEIJING — China's civil aviation authority said on June 17 that it is discussing with its counterparts in certain countries the possibility of gradually increasing international passenger flights in and out of the country.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the civil aviation authority has taken scientific, targeted and dynamic measures to basically keep regular flights with 54 countries, while effectively preventing cross-border transmission of the virus, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) told a press briefing.

To orderly arrange more international flights is conducive to China's economy, exchange of people with other countries and sustainable development of the civil aviation sector, the administration said.

About 12.07 million passenger trips were made in May, jumping 53.2 percent from the previous month, data from the CAAC showed.

The total air transport turnover hit 3.89 billion ton-km last month, surging 31.8 percent month-on-month, while the volume of mail and cargo transported went up 17 percent month-on-month to 491,000 tons, according to the CAAC.