Passenger volume hits 80m at Beijing airport

BEIJING - Beijing Capital International Airport, the world's second-heaviest traffic airport by passenger volume, saw this year's passenger volume surpass 80 million as of Wednesday.

The passenger volume is second only to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the United States, and Zhang Guanghui, general manager of BCIA Co, expects the airport to take the lead in 2015 if passenger traffic continues to expand at the current rate.

BCIA began services in 1958 and currently houses 94 airlines that operate flights to 127 domestic and 109 overseas destinations.

China's civil aviation sector has grown steadily amid the country's increasing interaction with the world. Next year, China's civil aviation market targets passenger traffic of 350 million, and about 75 billion yuan ($12 billion) will be pumped into infrastructure construction, according to Chinese civil aviation authorities.

China was home to 180 airports for civil aviation use by 2011. To meet rising demand, the country has vowed to build 82 new airports and upgrade 101 others during the 12th Five-year Plan period (2011-2015).