Xinjiang Photo: VCG

Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has ushered in a travel peak as summer vacations travel season continues to sizzle. Many of the region's airports have set new records for passenger volumes, according to local media outlet ts.cn on Tuesday.

Since the beginning of the summer travel season, the passenger flow through  Urumqi Diwopu International Airport has hit record highs. From July 28 to August 12, the single-day passenger throughput exceeded 90,000 for 16 consecutive days, ts.cn reported on Tuesday. 

Single-day passenger flow on August 5 reached 96,800, which is the highest record since the opening of the airport.

As of August 12, Urumqi Dewoqi International Airport has carried out 108,000 flights in 2023, with passenger throughput exceeding 15 million. It has also completed cargo and mail throughput of 84,000 tons.

Among them, leading destination cities of domestic inbound and outbound passenger flow to Urumqi are Beijing, Chengdu, Xi'an, Zhengzhou, Kashi, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Hangzhou and Lanzhou, accounting for 53 percent of the cumulative passenger throughput. 

For international flights, top destinations are Almaty, Dushanbe, Tashkent, Islamabad and Tbilisi.

As of July 31, Urumqi International Airport has opened 210 routes. A total of 22 cities within Xinjiang, 70 domestic cities outside of Xinjiang, and 13 foreign cities have direct flights to Urumqi.

In addition to Urumqi, transport volume of other airports in Xinjiang including Kashi, Yutian continue to break records. .

The Kashi International Airport also experienced the operational peak during the summer season. It is hosting more than 12,000 inbound and outbound passengers per day, operates 16 airlines, and has flights to 11 Xinjiang cities and 16 other Chinese cities.

At 08:11 am on Tuesday, the first direct flight route from Kashi to Guangzhou was officially opened, becoming the longest direct flight route in China.

As of August 12, the passenger throughput of Kashi International Airport exceeded 2 million, two months ahead of reaching the same benchmark in 2019.

On August 9,  inbound and outbound cargo and mail throughput of Kashi International Airport exceeded 100 tons, making it the first regional airport in Xinjiang with  inbound and outbound cargo and mail throughput exceeding 100 tons in a single day.

Passenger throughput in Yutian Wanfang Airport in Hotan prefecture also reached 100,000 passengers as of August 11, three and a half months ahead of reaching the same benchmark in 2019. It is also 155.1 percent higher than the same period in 2022, and is expected to exceed 150,000 in 2023.

Currently, Yutian Wanfang Airport is operating four airlines and has opened six routes to seven cities inside and outside of Xinjiang, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Urumqi.

Xinjiang has become a hot tourist destination over recent years. Enjoying an unprecedented tourism rebound in 2023, Xinjiang welcomed 102 million visits, a year-on-year increase of 31.49 percent, with tourism revenue reaching 92.27 billion yuan ($12.82 billion), a year-on-year increase of 73.64 percent, according to data released by the Department of Culture and Tourism of Xinjiang region on July 8.