A plane featuring the phrase "Sprinting Xiaoshan". [Photo by Ao Banma/airliners.net]

The passenger flow at Hangzhou International Airport in Xiaoshan district has surged in recent days thanks to the start of the summer holiday for students, local media outlets reported.

The airport, as the main hub for the arrival and departure services of the Hangzhou Asian Games and Asian Paralympic Games, has been expanding its Asian route network. It has added or resumed direct flights to Jeju in South Korea, Phuket and Chiang Mai in Thailand, Nha Trang in Vietnam, Bali in Indonesia, and Kalibo in the Philippines.

Before the Hangzhou Asian Games, the airport also plans to increase flights to key Asian cities such as Almaty in Kazakhstan, Sabah in Malaysia, Vientiane in Laos, and Manila in the Philippines, aiming to set up a wide range of transportation channels for event participants.

Bookings for the peak summer travel season at Hangzhou International Airport this year has skyrocketed compared to 2019. The airport is expected to operate 51,000 passenger flights and transport 7.8 million passengers, with the number of flights and passengers expected to increase by 10 percentage points compared to 2019, setting a new record in terms of summer passenger throughput.

A plane departs from Hangzhou International Airport in Xiaoshan district. [Photo/IC]