Beijing aims to be int'l air hub

KUALA LUMPUR: Beijing international airport has said its aims to become an international hub for the Asia-Pacific region in five years, despite the global economic slump and the aviation industry's downturn.

The airport forecast continuous passenger throughput growth this year, at 10 percent, while some airlines in other countries have gone bankrupt and airports have suffered from the economic downturn and soaring oil prices.

"The growth this year is slower than last year (18 percent), but China's aviation market is the world's aviation development engine, and its future is prosperous," Dong Zhiyi, general manager of the Beijing Capital International Airport Co Ltd, said on the sidelines of the 14th World Route Development Forum in Malaysia.