A flight crew celebrates the opening of the Haikou-Melbourne direct flight at the Haikou Meilan International Airport on Dec 16. [Photo by Deng Haining/Hainan Daily]
The number of international flights at the Haikou Meilan International Airport reached 39 on Dec 16, after the successful completion of the maiden flight between Haikou and Melbourne.
Among the 29 international flights currently offered, 12 go to Southeast Asia, two to South Korea, seven to Russia, three to Australia and one to Italy. The airport has opened 15 new international flights this year alone.
From December 1-16, the airport has facilitated 8,940 flights carrying 1.09 million passengers, an increase of 8.7 percent and 29.1 percent over the same period last year.
Passengers disembark the maiden flight between Haikou and Melbourne at the Haikou Meilan International Airport on Dec 16. [Photo by Deng Haining/Hainan Daily]
The Haikou Meilan International Airport formally opened on May 25, 1999 and was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in November 2002. It has since become a major airport in China. Covering an area of 1,140 hectares, it is rated as a Grade 4E airport with 3,600-m-long and 45-m-wide runways. The parallel taxiways can support full-weight take-offs and landings by airplanes as large as the Boeing 747-400. Terminals at the Haikou Meilan International Airport cover an area of nearly 150,000 sq m, while the station site covers an area of 790,000 sq m (including two bases) and has 78 parking bays.
Overview
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