Passenger trips through Beijing Daxing airport top 3 million this year

(ECNS) -- Inbound and outbound passenger trips through the border inspection checkpoint at Beijing Daxing International Airport surpassed 3 million as of Wednesday, reaching the milestone eight days earlier than a year ago, the Beijing Daxing Airport Border Inspection Station said Thursday.

In the first half of the year, the airport handled nearly 2.88 million inbound and outbound passenger trips, up about 5.1% from a year earlier. Foreign nationals accounted for 35.7% of all travelers after their numbers rose 38.5% year over year. The number of visa-free arrivals by foreign nationals increased by more than 250,000 from the same period last year.

Since the beginning of the year, Daxing Airport has opened new direct international routes to destinations including Helsinki, Frankfurt, Milan and Lisbon. Authorities said China's expanded unilateral visa-free policy and optimized transit visa-free policy have attracted more foreign travelers.

With the summer travel season underway, daily inbound and outbound passenger trips are expected to average more than 18,000, with the daily peak projected to exceed 20,000.

The Daxing Airport Border Inspection Station said it has adjusted officer deployment, optimized inspection procedures and established multilingual service teams to facilitate passenger clearance and provide travelers with information on entry and exit policies.