China's aviation regulator said on Thursday it expects the number of international flights to and from the country to reach 6,000 per week by the end of this year, or about 80% of pre-COVID levels.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said in a statement following its annual work conference that this compared to about 4,600 currently. At the start of 2023, there were fewer than 500 international flights weekly.

It added that for the year ahead it would continue to promote a "significant" increase in direct flights between China and the United States from 63 flights presently.

Recovery in international travel to and from China has lagged a rebound in the country's domestic travel industry following the ending of its zero-COVID policy due to reasons such as a dearth of flights, high ticket prices and administrative hurdles in procuring visas.

The CAAC also said it expects 690 million passenger trips to be made this year both domestically and internationally, up 11% from last year. In 2023, 620 million trips were made, up 146.1%, it added. (Reporting by Brenda Goh Editing by Mark Potter)