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Beijing airport to see record flights, passengers

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-31 19:55

BEIJING - Beijing Capital International Airport will receive 1,500 flights and 260,000 passengers daily after August 1, setting new records in the airport's history, according to Yang Guoqing, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) deputy administrator.

Since most Olympic delegations and spectators would arrive in early August, the number of flights of both arriving in and departing from the city would increase by one fifth compared with normal days. The number of passengers would increase by a quarter, Yang said at a press conference here on Thursday.

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He added the CAAC was confronted with an unprecedented challenge in handling the heaviest and most complicated air traffic in Chinese history.

"We will strive to provide safe, rapid and convenient service to all Olympic participants," he said.

In early August, the Capital Airport expected to receive 100 special flights for state leaders, 160 chartered flights and 1,000 business aircraft flights, said Huang Dengke, CAAC North China Regional Administration director-general.

He said the busiest time for arrivals and departures would range from August 6 to 11, with August 7 the peak.

Huang added the airport would handle more flights and passengers for the Olympics than for the 1990 Asian Games and the 2006 Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. But the airport's capacity had been greatly improved after the opening of the new Terminal 3 earlier this year.

"Beijing is prone to thunderstorms in early August. We have prepared four alternative airports in the northern cities of Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan and Hohhot. Each will have 100 parking bays ready for emergency landings."