BEIJING -- The rate of on-time departures for Chinese flights improved during the September-November period thanks to an overhaul to reduce late departures, an official said Tuesday.

Li Jiaxiang, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), said at a conference that the average rate of on-time departures stood at 76.7 percent between September and November, up 10.9 percentage points from that for July and August.

In the same period, the punctuality rate at 21 major airports with annual passenger traffic of more than 15 million reached 78.1 percent, up 9.6 percent from that of July and August, Li said.

He attributed the progress to a campaign against frequent late departures by the CAAC that began in July, which was launched to respond to passenger complaints about long flight delays.

Since July, the CAAC has coordinated the efforts of airlines, airports and air traffic control departments to reduce flight delays and enhance services for passengers in the case of late departures.