Qingdao Airport holds a series of events on Aug 2, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the opening of its first international routes. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Following adjustments to pandemic policies, Qingdao's civil aviation market has rapidly resumed growth. From January to July this year, new routes to Nha Trang, Jeju, and Kuala Lumpur were launched, and the frequency of flights along routes to Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka, Kathmandu, and Hong Kong was increased. The number of international and regional passenger and cargo routes has rebounded to 30, with the Seoul express route ranking first nationwide in terms of flight volume. Both flight and passenger volumes for routes to Japan and South Korea rank third nationwide, while the passenger volume for Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) routes increased by 70 percent, creating an efficient and smooth route network that focuses on Japan and South Korea, intercontinental connectivity, and serving the SCO.

Meanwhile, with the concerted efforts of local customs, Border Inspection, Shandong Airlines, and China Eastern Airlines, Qingdao have led to the launching of direct flights connecting six cities - Chongqing, Wuhan, Hangzhou, and others - to Japan and South Korea via Qingdao, significantly improving transfer efficiency and convenience. In the first half of this year, Qingdao Airport handled 11,400 international and regional flights, a year-on-year increase of 122 percent; the international and regional passenger volume reached 1.27 million, a year-on-year increase of 206 percent, ranking eighth among Chinese cities; and the international and regional cargo and mail volume reached 58,200 metric tons, with substantial growth in all major aviation transport indicators.