Beijing Capital airport gears up for more international flights

Beijing Capital International Airport will handle more international flights every day once the winter and spring civil aviation season begins on Sunday, airport management said on Friday.

Under the new season's schedule, running to March 30, the airport plans to operate 166 international flights a day, said He Yawei, an official with the airport's operations control center. That represents an increase of more than 30 a day compared with the average for the current season.

"During the new season, the number of international destinations is expected to reach 73, with the planned addition of two new destinations in San Francisco and Baku (the capital of Azerbaijan)," he said.

He said more flights would operate between Beijing and many international destinations, including Frankfurt, London, Paris, Munich, Madrid, Dubai, Sydney and Auckland.

The airport would further increase the number of international flights as the market continued to recover, he added.

"At the beginning of the winter and spring season last year, the number of international flights operating at the airport was about 40 to 50 a day, and it then rose to about 80 to 90 during the summer and autumn season this year," he said. "Now at the end of this month, the figure has grown to about 150. The change is significant."

On Friday, many international passengers were seen at the airport.

"As the orderly recovery in international passenger flights continues, more flights are expected to be arranged at the airport during the next season," he said.