(250417) -- URUMQI, April 17, 2025 (Xinhua) -- An airplane bound for Guangzhou of Guangdong Province takes off at Urumqi Tianshan International Airport in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 17, 2025. A new terminal at Urumqi Tianshan International Airport in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region began trial operations on Thursday, marking a major step in expanding regional air capacity. The terminal is a key part of the airport's expansion project that started in 2019. With the upgrade, the annual passenger and cargo handling capacity has more than tripled for the airport, formerly known as Urumqi Diwopu International Airport, an air hub for China's westward opening up, according to Xinjiang Airport Group Co., Ltd. With the completion of the expansion project, the airport now features three runways, up from one, and can accommodate up to 48 million passengers and 550,000 tonnes of cargo annually. It is now capable of supporting nearly 367,000 aircraft takeoffs and landings per year. (Xinhua/Xin Yuewei)
BEIJING –
China’s civil aviation sector saw total transportation turnover surge 8 percent year on year to reach a historic high of 15.18 billion tonne-kilometers in August, data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) showed on Friday.
In the first eight months of 2025, the total air transportation turnover was 108.33 billion tonne-kilometers, an increase of 10.5 percent from the same period last year, according to the CAAC.
More than 6.51 million tonnes of cargo and mail were transported by air during the eight-month period, up 14.5 percent year on year.
In August, over 75.36 million air passenger trips were completed, up 3.3 percent year on year. International passenger traffic saw a more robust expansion, growing by 15.3 percent to reach 7.47 million trips.
From January to August, the number of air passenger trips went up 5.3 percent year on year to 520 million, according to CAAC data.
source: People’s Daily Online
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