The country's total air traffic rose for the first time in five months in October, thanks to a surge in domestic passenger numbers, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said yesterday.

Despite gloomy figures in most sectors, an 11.3 percent rise in domestic flights, to 17.08 million, helped the industry as a whole achieve growth of 4 percent for the month, the administration said on its website.

The number of international passengers fell 17.4 percent to 1.26 million, while domestic and international cargo throughput were also down, it said.