As a man surnamed Nie flew from Beijing to Shanghai on China Southern Airlines flight CZ8887, the total throughput of the Beijing Daxing International Airport was brought to 10 million on September 22.
The newly-built airport is expected to see its passenger throughput reach 16 million by the end of 2020.
To celebrate the one year anniversary of the official operation of the airport, which falls on September 25, China Southern Airlines has launched its colored aircraft featuring the China International Import Expo (CIIE) at the Beijing Daxing International Airport.
The newly-decorated CIIE-themed aircraft will operate flights from the Beijing Daxing International Airport to Shanghai, Chongqing, Changsha and other major cities in the country.
At its busiest, the airport has handled more than 660 flights a day, with daily passenger flow peaking at 92,000 person-times.
As of September 21, it had completed takeoffs and landings of 84,000 flights, with a cargo and mail throughput of about 39,000 tons.
Eighteen domestic airlines now operate at the airport, including China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Air China, China United Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.
They have opened 187 domestic air routes at the airport, which connect 129 waypoints across the country, as well as five cargo routes linking the airport with Pudong New Area of Shanghai and cities including Chengdu, Hangzhou, Nantong and Wuxi.
In the face of challenges brought about by the COVID-19 epidemic, Beijing Daxing International Airport has successfully completed four batches of flight transfers and a seasonal adjustment of flights, helping continuously optimize the takeoff and landing slots at the Beijing Capital International Airport and Beijing Daxing International Airport and facilitate the recovery of the aviation industry.
Since September, Beijing Daxing International Airport has ranked top among airports in China in terms of the growth rate of flights. One of the most popular routes in operation at the airport, the route from Beijing to Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong province, has witnessed its average daily passenger volume reach more than 9,600 person-times.
China Southern Airlines, which has made Beijing Daxing International Airport its major base for operation, has the largest market share, the widest flight network coverage, and the largest number of passenger volume among airlines operating at the airport.
Since it started operation at the airport about one year ago, the airline has opened 45 routes and operated 15,000 flights, which account for over 45 percent of the flights serving the airport.
Besides, the company has already transferred 80 percent of its flights in Beijing to Beijing Daxing International Airport.
It will have completed the transfer of its remaining flights on the routes to cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Kunming by the end of October, thus achieving all its goals for transferring flights five months ahead of schedule.
China Southern Airlines intends to undertake 50 percent of the passenger traffic at the airport in the future, striving to establish a dual-hub operation model in Beijing and Guangzhou.
By 2025, China Southern Airlines will have put into operation over 200 aircrafts at the airport, seen daily takeoffs and landings of its flights exceed 900, and handled 28.8 million passenger trips.
