Passengers use self-service immigration clearance channels at Pudong airport, Shanghia. (Photo/Shine.cn)
A record number of passengers — 35.36 million — traveled through Pudong International Airport this year, the airport's entry-exit frontier inspection station said on Thursday.
Pudong, the most popular airport on the Chinese mainland for 15 years, saw nearly 98,000 people entering or leaving the city every day, the station said.
At least 60 percent of passengers were mainland residents, with the number rising by 2 million to 22.4 million compared to last year. More than half of them traveled between traditionally popular destinations such as Hong Kong, Japan and southeast Asian countries.
The airport has opened 67 self-service immigration clearance channels, which take an average of 10 seconds to use.
Nearly 4 million passengers have used the channels, up 70 percent from the same period last year. Approximately, 90 percent were mainland residents, the station said.
The service is available to Chinese and expats with permanent residence or permits valid for six months or longer.
More than 260,000 foreign visitors took the option of the 24-hour, visa-free transit policy offered at the airport, up 37 percent compared to the same period last year. Another 41,000 expats enjoyed the 144-hour visa-free transit policy, a 24 percent of year-on-year increase.
The policy was aimed at attracting more expats to do business and travel in Shanghai and neighboring Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, the station said.
