BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- China's air passenger trips reached 190 million in the first quarter (Q1) this year, representing a year-on-year increase of 4.9 percent, data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) showed Sunday.

The civil aviation sector completed 3.58 million flight hours and 1.36 million flights in Q1, up 4.8 percent and 2.6 percent year on year, respectively, Li Yong, an official with the CAAC, told a press conference.

The sector's total transportation turnover topped 38.59 billion tonne-kilometers in the first three months, up 10.5 percent from a year earlier.

Cargo and mail transported by air in the period reached 2.24 million tonnes, up 11.7 percent year on year.

China's civil aviation sector achieved a punctuality rate of 94.5 percent in Q1, up 4.9 percentage points over the same period last year.

No accidents were reported in the sector during the first quarter, Li noted.■