Meilan airport in the capital of China's southernmost province of Hainan has become the eighth largest airport for civil aviation in the country.
The airport has handled about 100,000flights to and from Haikou,involving 8.3million passengers and 130,000tons of goods and mails since it was put into operation three years ago.
Meilan became the first airport in China last August to be controlled by an airline company,when the Hainan Airlines Group Co took control of the money-losing airport as its controlling shareholder.
The airport,originally owned by six shareholding companies,has a total capital stock of 1.35billion yuan, twice as much as its starting capital stock.
Haikou Meilan Airport in Haikou, capital of the tropical island province of Hainan in south China, has been approved by the Chinese government as an international airport open to foreign-owned airplanes.
The airport, which can accommodate large planes such as the Boeing 747-400, has been renamed Haikou Meilan International Airport.
The airport is upgrading its infrastructure facilities, including terminals and lighting systems, in accordance with international standards, said an airport spokesman
The airport was opened in May 1999 and now operates about 220 domestic and overseas routes. It handled 5.5 million passengers in2002.
According to an assessment commissioned by the General Administration of Customs, the Ministry of Public Security and theGeneral Administration of Civil Aviation of China, the telecommunications system, ground safety and service facilities are up to international standards.