BEIJING - China's airline industry showed signs of recovery in May with the decline in key indicators significantly narrowing from a month ago, the country's top aviation authority said Wednesday.

Airlines flew a total of 25.83 million passengers last month, down 52.6 percent year on year. The decline narrowed 15.9 percentage points from April, Xiong Jie, spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Administration of China, told a press briefing.

Air cargo volume fell 12 percent year on year to 549,000 tonnes, compared with a 19.5-percent decrease registered in April.

The punctuality rate of Chinese airlines reached 94.8 percent in May, Xiong added.