As China's spring festival holiday comes to an end, air travel across the nation faces a new peak. 90 percent of tickets already sold are for routes to major cities.

Beijing Capital International Airport estimates over 180-thousand people will fly into the city on Thursday. And Friday, the last official holiday, will see around 200-thousand. Airlines are trying to reduce peak travel pressure by moving more planes and higher-capacity planes to routes from popular destinations like Sanya, Xiamen, and Guangzhou to economic hubs like Beijing and Shanghai. And more planes will be used for routes from regional urban centers, such as provincial capitals, to first-tier cities.