Beijing Capital reports drastic rise in international flights

About 195,000 international passenger trips were made at the Beijing Capital International Airport since China optimized its COVID-19 management measures last month, the airport said on Thursday.

China optimized its COVID-19 management plan on Jan 8, easing restrictions on international travel.

From Jan 8 to Wednesday 2,056 international flights took place, both inbound and outbound.

The airport handled about 4.41 million passenger trips during the recently concluded 40-day Spring Festival travel rush.

This year's 40-day travel rush began on Jan 7 and ended on Wednesday. It was the first such travel rush since China optimized its COVID-19 management measures last month.

Most trips from Beijing Capital were for family visits and travel. Top destinations were Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou in Guangdong province, Chengdu in Sichuan province and Sanya in Hainan province.

The peak fell on Feb 6, with 137,000 passenger trips.