Shanghai Pudong International Airport can now handle the world's biggest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380, at its two terminals after renovations were completed to Terminal 1.

The city welcomed the first Airbus A380 jumbo jet operated by Emirates Airlines which landed at Pudong airport's Terminal 2 yesterday, helping the city become the second in the Chinese mainland, after Beijing, that can handle the plane. Emirates operates the jet between Dubai and Pudong three times weekly.

Jia Ruijun, the general manager of Shanghai International Airport Co, said the airport will be developed into "the most attractive in the Asia-Pacific region and build into an international transport hub."

More than 40 million passengers used the airport last year, nearly half of them international or regional travelers.

He said the local airport authority is also talking with other airlines to operate more A380 flights, which are expected in the second half of this year.

Shanghai's two airports can handle the jumbo jet with Hongqiao airport usually used as an alternative.