Beijing retains position as world’s second busiest airport in 2012

Monday, 7 January 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

BEIJING: The Chinese capital retained its position as the world’s second busiest airport in 2012 just behind a US airport by handling 81.8 million people last year.

Beijing Capital International Airport said today it remained the world’s second-busiest airport in 2012 in terms of passenger throughput.

Passenger volumes grew 4.2 %year-on-year to reach 81.8 million people last year, according to a statement from the airport.

According to the Airports Council International, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport of the US remained the busiest handling about 90 million passengers last year.

The number of daily passengers at the Chinese Capital airport exceeded 278,000 during peak travel periods in 2012.

The airport has become increasingly busy in the last decade due to China’s robust economic growth. Ninety-four airlines were using it as a flight hub as of the end of last year, operating flights to 236 destinations, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.