Chinese airlines made an estimated 800-million-yuan ($116 million) profit in the first quarter thanks to a rebound in domestic travel and the government's supporting measures, the civil aviation head Li Jiaxiang said yesterday.

The domestic market saw a double-digit growth in passenger volume during the period, up 17.9 percent on the same period last year, Li, chief of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), told the 2009 China-US Aviation Symposium, which ends today.

The symposium promotes a high-level dialogue between the two countries to address challenges to the growth of the aviation sector.