China's civil aviation sector handled 10.54 million passenger trips during the five-day May Day holiday that ended on May 5, averaging 2.11 million trips per day, with a total of 89,000 flights operated, according to data released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on Wednesday.

The on-time performance rate of flights reached 97.2 percent, an increase of 7.2 percentage points compared with the same period last year, according to the CAAC's data.

The May Day holiday is traditionally a peak season for travel and family reunions. China's civil aviation sector demonstrated its ability to handle the passenger surges this year.

Core routes connecting the four major city clusters — the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in north China, the Yangtze River Delta in east China, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in south China, and the Chengdu-Chongqing economic zone in southwest China — maintained high market concentration, with trunk route ticket bookings accounting for 67.6 percent of the total.

Regional airports became new travel highlights during the holiday, with flights to smaller cities seeing a surge in bookings, like the Zhongwei Shapotou Airport in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

As an important regional airport, it currently operates stable routes to major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Xi'an, while increasing frequencies to popular destinations such as Beijing, Kunming, Zhengzhou and Chengdu to one flight per day.

The continuously optimized route network has made it easier for tourists to travel to Zhongwei and experience its local charm.

"I took a direct flight from Kunming in [southwest China's] Yunnan Province. It was very convenient. I was highly satisfied with the airport services, from the moment I landed until I walked out," said Xiong Shunwenlong, a passenger.

"Data shows a surge in flight bookings to small-airport destinations during the May Day holiday. Ticket sales to Yueyang, in central China's Hunan Province, jumped 224 percent, while sales to Zhongwei, in northwest China's Ningxia, doubled. The number of travelers heading to third- and lower-tier cities nearly doubled," said Shi Ke, a researcher at Qunar's Big Data Research Institute.