After a 14-month overhaul, the old terminal building at the Capital International Airport is ready to relieve some of the mounting air traffic pressure in Beijing.

Airport authorities said yesterday the renovated terminal will be used exclusively by China's largest air carrier, China Southern, for domestic air routes starting on September 20, said Li Peiying, general manager of the Capital Airport Holding Co.

It is the first time in China's civil aviation history that an airport terminal is "monopolized" by a single airline group.

Industry regulators said the move will encourage more airlines to offer ground services.

Under a contract China Southern and the airport signed last year, the two sides invested 18 million yuan (US$2.2 million) to launch a 50-50 company to run the refurbished Terminal 1, said Li.

China Southern, together with its affiliates China Northern and Xinjiang airlines, will move into the renewed terminal next month. Its two share-holding airlines, Xiamen and Sichuan, will join them later, said Li Kun, deputy manager of China Southern.

He said the event is tied to the company's strategy of dramatically increasing the number of flights between Beijing and other cities.

With an annual capacity of 9 million passengers, the facility will help divert the congestion in the incumbent Terminal 2, which has already topped its designed annual capacity of 27.5 million, Li Peiying said.

From January to July the current terminal handled 15.6 million departures and arrivals. The number reached 3.17 million last month, indicated the latest airport statistics.

With the old terminal resuming operation, China Southern, which handles one-fourth of the total passenger volume of the Beijing airport, plans to increase its flights by 30 per cent, Li Kun said.

Besides, the ground services at the terminal will be state-of-the-art, he said.

The airport is building a third terminal, with an investment hopefully exceeding 20 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion), according to Li Peiying.

(China Daily August 27, 2004)