Mega-city sees a record number of airline passengers in 2015

When Jiangbei International Airport in Chongqing welcomed its 30 millionth passenger this year, on Dec 1, at 09:26 am, it put it among the busiest airports in the world, liangjiang.gov.cn reported, noting that it has sped up development in recent years and saw a passenger volume reaching 10 million for 2007, then exceeding 20 million by 2013.

Wang Yong, the 30 millionth passenger at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, getting a warm welcome, on Dec 1.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

One of these record-breaking passengers, Wang Yong, who flew here from Tianjin, said excitedly, "I feel very lucky to be this year's 30 millionth passenger," then added that, after landing, he got a warm welcome from airport staff.

Chongqing now has 232 air routes, including 58 to foreign cities and the volume of goods that it has handled has multiplied as well, with the cargo volume this year expected to exceed 300,000 tons.

Its air transport network now reaches Europe, the Americas, Australia and Asia.