China’s domestic air traffic is expected to expand at an annual growth rate of 8.2 per cent over the next 20 years, state media reported, citing the country’s largest aircraft manufacturer, Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). AVIC said China will need 3,798 new aircraft over the next two decades, including 2,922 jumbo jets and 874 regional jets.

“As some air routes already run flights every 30 minutes to handle the huge passenger traffic, we expect more 200-seat planes will be used on these routes to expand transport capacity,” said AVIC Development Research Center executive president, Liao Quanwang.

AVIC is currently in the planning stage of producing the domesticallymade C919 which is expected to compete with Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’ A320 models.