By Koustav Samanta

(Reuters) – The global airline capacity reached its maximum level for 2022 thanks to a surge in Chinese domestic demand despite the prolonged lockdown in Asia’s most important aviation market.

Refinitiv Eikon data indicated that Asian jet fuel refining margins have doubled over the past 2 months and were $30.04 per barrel higher than Dubai crude Monday.

Shanghai’s COVID-19 lockdown has been extended for the fourth week, and fears have grown that mass testing in Beijing could lead to a similar outcome.

OAG data revealed that global airlines added nearly 2.5 million seats over the past week, almost half of them in China.

According to a data firm, “This will reverse the recent decreases in capacity caused by travel restrictions in Shanghai in particular,” they stated in a statement.

According to OAG, the total scheduled air traffic in Northeast Asia increased 10.8% over the past week. However, the region’s total capacity is still 36% less than in the week prior to the pandemic.

Global domestic and international airlines total capacity increased by 3.3%, to 88.6 millions seats. This is approximately 20% less than 2019.

OAG stated that the planned capacity for the following three months was expected to be closer to 2019 levels. This is a sign of confidence in travel recovery.

OAG wrote in a blog, “We have yet to make the long and difficult return to the 109M seats per week in 2019, if ever we reach that point.” However, the situation is much more positive in most markets than it was last year.