Over 144 mln passenger trips made during China's Tomb-sweeping Day holiday

BEIJING, April 5 (Xinhua) -- It is estimated 144.52 million domestic trips were made during the Tomb-sweeping Day holiday in China, official data showed.

Compared with the same period last year, the figure surged 142.4 percent for the three-day holiday, which lasted from Saturday to Monday this year, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Domestic railway trips exceeded 9.33 million on Sunday, latest data from the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. showed.

As the number of returning travelers peaked Monday, railway trips are expected to reach 14.25 million on the last day of the holiday, said the group.

Airlines handled nearly 4.33 million passenger trips during the holiday, a jump of 256.4 percent year on year, the ministry estimated.

Meanwhile, the passenger load factor, which measures how much of an airline's available seating capacity is used, was estimated to be 73.4 percent, up 8.1 percentage points from a year ago, it said.

Tomb-sweeping Day, also known as Qingming Festival, was observed on April 4 this year. It is a traditional Chinese holiday during which people pay tribute to deceased family members. Many also spend the holiday traveling.