This week's Flight Friday looks at the effect the opening of China has had on the country and its surrounding areas.

China relaxed its strict COVID regulations in December 2022, leading to an obvious increase in the number of cycles (flights). It jumped from below 50% of the equivalent month in 2019 in December 2022 to almost 125% of the equivalent 2019 month in April 2023..

The Asia-Pacific market had been growing at a steady rate since the beginning of 2022, however the opening of China added a boot to the number of cycles, up from 84% in December 2022 to 90% in January 2023. Asia-Pacific has plateaued since then but at 90%+ of equivalent month 2019, it is the most recovery Asia-Pacific operators have seen to date.

India’s operators in 2023 have continuously operated at higher than 2019 levels. This is in part due to the larger Indian fleet, but also buoyed by the resurgence in its neighboring regions. India is not without near term issues, such as the well-reported bankruptcy of GoAir and Pratt & Whitney engine issues.

This data was put together using Aviation Week's Tracked Aircraft Utilization tool.