(Yicai) Dec. 30 -- China significantly expanded its aviation infrastructure this year, with five airports completing third runways, lifting the total number of three-runway airports nationwide to 11.

The newly expanded airports are in Wuhan, Lanzhou, Urumqi, Shenzhen, and Xi’an. Among them, Xi’an Xianyang International Airport put its third runway into operation on Dec. 25, while Shenzhen’s third runway began operations on Nov. 29. Separately, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport completed its fifth runway on Oct. 30.

Latest data show that as of Dec. 19, Xi’an Xianyang International Airport handled 47 million passenger trips this year, surpassing its total volume for all of last year. The airport’s flight execution rate and passenger load factor rose to 85 percent and 86 percent, respectively, up 2.1 percentage points and 0.8 percentage points year on year.

Hao Yuanxiao, a professor at Xi’an Jiaotong University, told Yicai that with the development of the aviation economy and the low-altitude economy, airports’ cargo transport functions will continue to strengthen, leading to a sharp rise in dedicated cargo flights.

Airports will evolve beyond passenger and logistics hubs into comprehensive economic nodes, driving the growth of airport-edge economies and prompting regions across China to accelerate airport development, Hao added.

Editor: Emmi Laine