China's civil aviation sector has been recovering steadily in the first six months of this year, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on Friday.

From January to June, 245 million passenger trips were handled by commercial flights, about 76 percent of the same period in 2019, Zhang Qing, deputy director of the development and planning department of the administration, told a news conference in Beijing.

She also noted that many more passenger trips were handled in the second quarter than the first, showing the sector's steady growth.

The global aviation sector has been heavily hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a significant decline in passenger trips. The International Air Transport Association earlier estimated that international travel won't recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2024.

Although international air passenger transport volume has declined, air cargo transportation has shown strong growth, especially in the international market.

Since the pandemic, air cargo transportation has been crucial in sending medical supplies. In addition, people have been encouraged to stay at home, creating a boom for online retail and express delivery, thereby boosting air cargo transportation.

Administration data shows that during the first half of this year, 3.74 million metric tons of cargo and mail were transported by Chinese commercial flights, an increase of 6.4 percent over the same period of 2019. Among them, international cargo flights increased by 17.8 percent.