HAIKOU, September 2. /TASS/. Haikou Meilan International Airport in the southern Chinese province of Hainan plans to add more than 1,500 flights to its schedule amid growing passenger traffic, Xinhua reported on Wednesday. 

"About 16 airlines, including Air China, Hainan Airlines and China Southern Airlines, will increase the number of flights through Haikou. The decision is made due to the large flow of students returning to school in September. The increase in passenger traffic is also associated with the upcoming celebration of China's Education Day in October and the Mid-Autumn Festival," the article reads.

According to the agency, more than 1,340 flights will be added to service passengers flying from Haikou to major cities such as Guangzhou, Wuhan, Shenzhen and Shanghai. Another 180 flights, previously suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in various directions, will be resumed.

In August, Meilan Airport served over 12,500 flights, and the total passenger traffic through this airport exceeded 1.66 million people.

Over the past few months, Hainan's passenger air traffic has been recovering rapidly and is approaching its previous level, which is seen due to a number of factors, including, in particular, an increase in the duty free purchasing quota per person, as well as the lifting of the ban on group tourism.