The passenger throughput of the Shenzhen airport between January and June reached 25.8 million, a 6.2 percent increase year on year, sources from the airport said yesterday.
In the first six months of the year, the airport opened six new international routes, bringing the total number of international routes to 50 and marking a new stage in the city’s construction of an international aviation hub.
Following the opening of 15 international routes last year, the Shenzhen airport has opened six more this year, including flights to Johannesburg, Tel Aviv, Dublin and Rome.
The inauguration of the international routes increased the throughput of international passengers to 2.44 million in the first six months, an increase of 30.6 percent. International passengers accounted for 10 percent of total throughput.
As the route network was further improved, the 144-hour visa-free transit policy was also put into practice this May, enabling more convenient travel to and from the cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The addition of routes and the increased convenience of customs clearance have attracted more and more passengers to travel via the Shenzhen airport.
Despite the impact of adverse weather like heavy rain in the first half of this year, the Shenzhen airport achieved its goal of an 85.42 percent rate of flight punctuality, representing a slight increase compared with the same period last year, by strengthening cooperation between air traffic controllers and airlines.
Additionally, the Shenzhen airport has improved its passenger services. Starting from intelligent and personalized services, it has launched some new smart services, such as facial recognition-aided security checks and self-service check-in equipment that no longer distinguishes between airlines. Meanwhile, it has also put into use the first domestic waiting area, flagship baby nursing rooms and a hand-assisted baggage conveying service aimed at preventing damages to baggage, which have received wide praise from passengers.
In the first quarter of this year, the Shenzhen airport ranked 12th among world airports in a passenger satisfaction survey released by Airport Council International and won the title of the best airport in 2018 in the ranking released by Civil Aviation Passenger Service Evaluation.