Air passengers faced fewer delays last year partly due to improved airspace efficiency, a civil aviation official said on Tuesday.

China's flight punctuality rate rose to 76.6 percent in 2016, up 8.2 percentage points from one year earlier, according to Che Jinjun, director of the Air Traffic Control Bureau under the Civil Aviation Administration.

The number of flights reached a new high last year. There were 8.39 million takeoffs and landings, up 7.75 percent year on year, Che said, adding that accident rates remained low.

China is aiming for punctuality no lower than 75 percent in 2017. Delays due to air traffic restrictions should not exceed 8 percent of total flights.

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