This Day, That Year: April 10

Editor's note: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China.

In April 1980, the central government approved the establishment of the Beijing Air Catering Co, originally registered as Sino-Overseas Joint Venture 001. It laid the foundation for the creation of more overseas-funded enterprises, and marked the end of in-flight menus that offered little more than biscuits, boiled eggs and cold luncheon meat.

An item from Dec 31, 1982, in China Daily showed employees of the Beijing Air Catering preparing a roast turkey, to be served aboard one of the 15 airlines the company supplied at that time. The company prepared hundreds of in-flight meals daily in 1982.

Now, the Beijing Air Catering provides more than 100,000 in-flight meals to passengers every day.

The company's development reflects the country's booming aviation sector.

Last year, China's civil aviation industry handled 610 million passenger trips and about 7.4 million metric tons of air cargo, year-on-year increases of 11.4 percent and 4.6 percent respectively. The Civil Aviation Administration of China has set the goal of handling 680 million passenger trips this year.

Beijing Capital International Airport has been ranked the world's second-busiest airport for nine years, behind Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the United States.

Last year Beijing Capital handled 100 million passenger trips.

However, due to cost pressure, some carriers are altering their in-flight catering services. Last year, Tianjin Airlines announced that its economy class for domestic flights no longer offered complimentary meals, allowing it to offer cheaper tickets. Passengers who would like to eat in-flight can book ahead online.