The Beijing Capital International Airport announced its annual
passenger throughput hit a record of 50 million yesterday and would
reach 53.31 million by year-end, enabling it to possibly become the
world's eighth largest airport by passenger volume.
Li Bianzhuo, a Beijinger in his 30s working in Guangzhou, was
the lucky 50-millionth passenger. He arrived yesterday morning
aboard a China Southern flight from Guangzhou on a home visit.
Li was invited to act as a supervisor of the airport's
services.
Last year, the airport was ninth among the top 10 world airports
by passenger traffic, with a passenger transport volume of 48.65
million, according to Geneva-based Airports Council International
(ACI) statistics.
"The 50-million mark is a critical point. In the days after it
is reached, airport growth would be even faster than before,"
Professor Li Xiaojin, with the Civil Aviation University of China
in Tianjin, told China Daily yesterday.
Citing the results of research on world airports' development,
Li explained that airports with such passenger volumes have enough
flights to attract even more passengers seeking convenience.
Yang Guoqing, vice-minister of the General Administration of
Civil Aviation (CAAC), said yesterday the airport would accommodate
an estimated 64 million passengers next year, when Beijing hosts
the 2008 Summer Olympics.
"That will place the airport among the world's top five airports
by passenger volume," Yang said.
The airport's new third terminal would open in February, making
it one of the largest airports in the world. By then, the airport
would be able to handle 82 million passengers annually, up from the
current capacity of 35.50 million.
Yang denied worries that the airport's passenger flow might drop
after 2008, saying his confidence came from two factors: The
airport's important location and its push to become a major air hub
in the Asia Pacific region.
It is currently the second largest airport in Asia by passenger
volume, after Tokyo, with a passenger throughput of 65.81 million,
last year.
But it is agreed that the airport still needs to do more to
become an international aviation hub.
Sun Defu, a senior official with the Civil Aviation
Administration for the North China Area, told China Daily
that airport would need to at least improve the transfer service to
attract more international travelers.
"The airport should rearrange the flight schedule to solve
flight connection problems and help transfer passengers save time,"
Sun said.
Growth of China's civil aviation sector is among the fastest in
the world, and 15 percent of its passenger flow comes through
Beijing.
The airport first reached an annual passenger volume of 10
million in 1993 - 35 years after it opened. But the increase from
40 million to 50 million took only two years.
(China Daily December 6, 2007)
