HAIKOU /China/, August 11. /TASS/. The total number of flights served daily by the international airport of the city of Sanya (southern Hainan province) in early August reached a new record high of over 400. That's according to the local Sanya Daily newspaper.

On August 3, Phoenix Airport served 409 flights, and on August 6, 403 flights. Earlier, the airport authority pledged to guarantee the airport's high-level capacity during the summer passenger transportation season. From July 1 to August 6, Sanya Airport served more than 14,000 flights, up 15.8% from the same period in pre-pandemic 2019, according to official data.

The airport's air traffic control department, the publication wrote, also faced the need to seriously assess weather-related risks due to typhoons this summer season. Work was done to develop special emergency response measures to ensure uninterrupted passenger traffic with all necessary safety requirements.

In early July, as was previously reported, Sanya Airport's international terminal was put into operation after the completion of the reconstruction, which can now handle up to 3 million passengers annually. The renovation was launched in July 2022.

The total investment in the project amounted to about 200 million yuan (about $28 million). The work was mainly carried out in the airport's international terminal on an area of 16,000 square meters. According to a city government official, authorities will continue to promote the development of air transportation, increase the number of the airport's international flights, and build an international air hub focused on the Asia-Pacific region as well as the Indian Ocean.

The city of Sanya is among the province's most popular resort centers. By 2025, authorities intend to turn Hainan into an "international center of tourism and consumption." The Chinese island is often referred to as "Hawaii of the East" - natural landscapes, tropical forests, a developed network of hotels in combination with beaches and a coastline of more than 1,900 kilometers attract guests from the most distant parts of the world.