BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- China's registered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fleet totaled nearly 3.29 million units by the end of 2025, a 51-percent increase year on year, according to data released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

A drone developed by Phoenix Wings, a cargo Unmaned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) company under China's express delivery giant SF Group, is pictured at the launching ceremony of the first batch of low-altitude economy (LAE) regulatory sandbox pilot projects held in Hong Kong, south China, March 20, 2025. (Photo: Xinhua)

UAV flight hours surged to 45.3 million in 2025, up 69.9 percent from the previous year, the CAAC said in its 2025 statistical bulletin on civil aviation industry development.

By the end of last year, China had 65 transport airlines, 4,574 civil aviation transport aircraft, and 5,488 regular flight routes.

In terms of passenger and cargo traffic, China's civil aviation industry handled over 770 million passenger trips and more than 10 million tonnes of cargo and mail in 2025, up 5.5 percent and 13.3 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. Both passenger and cargo traffic on international routes climbed by over 20 percent.

The Chinese mainland had 270 transport airports by the end of 2025, a net increase of seven from a year earlier. Among them, 41 airports handled annual passenger throughput of 10 million or more.  ■