BEIJING, July 30 (Xinhua) -- China saw 297 million air passenger trips during the first half this year, a 12.4 percent year-on-year increase, according to Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on Monday.

The country's air cargo traffic reached more than 3.55 million tonnes in the same period, a 6.4 percent year-on-year increase, said CAAC in its latest released statistics for the first half of 2018.

To date, air passenger traffic volume represents 31 percent of the country's comprehensive transportation system, a two-percentage-point year-on-year increase.

By the end of June, the flight punctuality rate of China was 79.52 percent, representing an 8.33-percentage-point year-on-year increase, while its flight volume increased by 8.38 percent compared with the first half last year.

China recorded 549 million air passenger trips and 7.12 million tonnes of air cargo in 2017, a 12.6 and 6.6 percent year-on-year increase respectively.

CAAC forecasts that number of China's air passenger trips is expected to reach 612 million in 2018, an 11 percent year-on-year increase.