BEIJING - China's civil aviation industry bore the brunt of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19), as it suffered major losses in February, the biggest in a single month.

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The CAAC said it would pay close attention to the ongoing epidemic and ensure the implementation of preferential policies in a bid to cushion the blow of the epidemic on the air transport industry

The aviation sector registered losses of 24.59 billion yuan (about US$3.53 billion) last month, Zhang Qing, an official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), told an online press conference Thursday.

The total air transport turnover last month tumbled 73.9 percent year on year to 2.52 billion ton-km, while the passenger throughput stood at 8.34 million trips, plummeting 84.5 percent from the same period last year.

Cargo and mail throughput stood at 297,000 tons, down 21 percent on a year-on-year basis.

Civil aviation authorities will pay close attention to the ongoing epidemic and ensure the implementation of preferential policies in a bid to cushion the blow of the epidemic on the air transport industry, said Zhang.

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China has rolled out a slew of fiscal policies, including tax relief to reduce business risks faced by enterprises in this sector, according to the administration.