Shanghai airports see surging outbound, inbound passengers during Spring Festival

SHANGHAI, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai's two airports saw surging numbers of inbound and outbound passengers around the Spring Festival this year, Shanghai Customs said on Sunday.

In the nine days from Chinese New Year's Eve to Saturday, the city's Pudong and Hongqiao airports handled about 860,000 inbound and outbound passengers, 5.5 times more than during the Spring Festival holiday last year, according to the customs office.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport handled about 90,000 inbound and outbound passengers each day, experiencing a peak of 94,000 on Friday.

Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport handled approximately 77,000 inbound and outbound air travelers in the first Spring Festival travel rush since it resumed international flights and flights to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Boosted by a visa-free travel agreement between China and Singapore, Shanghai Pudong International Airport handled a total of 29,000 inbound Singaporean passengers and outbound Chinese passengers heading for Singapore, 12.4 times more than in the same period last year.