CHINA'S civil aviation industry tripled their profits in 2010 to a record high as economic recovery and a strong demand for air travel boosted passenger traffic.

The combined operating income at China's airlines and airport operators soared 37.2 percent annually to 411.5 billion yuan (US$62 billion), with profit at 43.7 billion yuan last year, the vice director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, Wang Changshun, said at a meeting in Beijing yesterday.

Passenger numbers rose 15.8 percent from 192 million in 2009 to a record 267 million last year.

The airlines reaped profits of 35.1 billion yuan as they tapped major events including the Shanghai Expo and the Guangzhou Asian Games to boost air travel numbers.

Cargo turnover jumped 25 percent from a year earlier to 5.57 million tons in 2010.

Wang also added that this year will see around 70 billion yuan in fixed asset investment in the country's civil aviation industry, including spending on airport construction and air traffic control projects.

He expects passenger traffic to rise 13 percent from 2010 to 300 million this year.

Chinese airlines will introduce 290 new aircraft this year to meet demand and Wang said the CAAC will support airlines to renew their fleets and phase out old airplanes. He also urged them to adjust their fleet capacity to market conditions.

Passenger volume at Beijing Capital International Airport exceeded 70 million for the first time in 2010, making it the second busiest airport in the world.