China's civil aviation sector began operating its 2026 summer-autumn flight schedule on Sunday, with airlines adding and restoring international routes, increasing frequency and expanding services tied to inbound tourism, as carriers refined their networks ahead of the peak summer travel season.

The new schedule, which runs through Oct 24, covers 210 days and coincides with the summer holiday period and several public holidays, a traditionally busy season for air travel.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, 222 Chinese and international airlines have planned to operate about 121,000 passenger and cargo flights per week during the new season, broadly unchanged from a year earlier. Of that total, 191 airlines will operate 21,047 international flights per week, up 1.8 percent year-on-year, serving 86 countries. Cyprus has been added as a new destination in the flight network.

China's civil aviation sector adjusts flight schedules twice a year, with the summer-autumn season typically running from late March to late October and the winter-spring season from late October to late March of the following year. The seasonal reshuffle is intended to better align services with market demand, weather conditions and international scheduling practices, while supporting safe and efficient operations.

The aviation regulator said the latest schedule adjustment pointed to continued improvement in the international market, with route networks becoming more complete, flight density increasing and services to emerging markets and inbound tourism destinations posting notable growth.

Chinese carriers are set to launch a new passenger route to Ethiopia, while a foreign airline will open a scheduled cargo route to Cyprus, further broadening the international network.

The frequency of flights is also rising as passenger services between China and 52 countries, including Canada and Kenya, are planned at levels above those of the same period in 2025. Passenger and cargo flights between China and all major regions are also scheduled to increase.

Routes linked to emerging markets have become a bright spot. On services between China and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese airlines will account for 74.7 percent of flights, up 31.4 percent from a year earlier, according to CAAC.

Capacity tied to inbound tourism is also growing. International passenger flights between China and 16 major inbound tourism source markets, including South Korea, the United States and Malaysia, are scheduled to increase 13.3 percent year-on-year.

China Southern Airlines will launch several international routes, including Guangzhou-Bishkek, Guangzhou-Delhi, Guangzhou-Harbin-Vladivostok and Beijing Daxing-Helsinki. The airline will also add flights on routes from Guangzhou, Guangdong province, to Sydney and Melbourne, from Shenzhen to Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and on Beijing Daxing-Istanbul and Urumqi-Istanbul services.

Han Weidong, deputy head of operations at China Southern Airlines' Beijing branch, said the airline's hub at Beijing Daxing International Airport will serve 66 destinations in line with the new schedule, alongside further adjustments to network layout and frequencies.

Air China said it will increase frequencies on more than 10 international routes, including Beijing-Warsaw, Beijing-Milan and Beijing-Budapest, while opening new services on Chongqing-Manila and Wenzhou-Jeju and resuming the Beijing-Delhi route.

Under the new schedule, the carrier will operate 461 routes, including 110 international and 12 regional routes, linking 198 cities across 49 countries and regions. It plans to run an average of 1,766 flights a day, with overall capacity up about 12 percent from the 2025 summer-autumn season. International and regional flights, including additional summer services, are scheduled at 249 per day on average, up about 15 percent.

China Eastern Airlines plans to open 30 new international and regional routes during the season, including Shanghai-Tashkent, Shanghai-Adelaide, Shanghai-Cheongju, Shanghai-Tbilisi and Xi'an-Vienna. It will also increase frequencies on 14 routes, including services from Shanghai to Venice, Barcelona and Singapore.

At the airport level, Beijing Daxing International Airport is also expanding operations in accordance with the new season plan.

The airport will handle an average of about 1,012 scheduled flights a day during the 210-day period, up 3.79 percent year-on-year, the first time its daily scheduled flight volume has exceeded the 1,000 mark.

A total of 44 airlines are expected to operate at Daxing during the season, linking the airport with 133 domestic passenger destinations and 44 international and regional passenger destinations, according to the airport.

Its international and regional network will cover popular destinations including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Seoul, London, Amsterdam, Istanbul, Moscow, Hong Kong and Macao.

Li Ziwei, a manager in Daxing airport's aviation business department, said the new schedule is designed to better meet increasingly diverse travel demand.