The landing of the 143-seat B-2635, an airplane for Kunming Airlines, in Airport on July 7 not only marks the start of operations of the -Liuzhou air route but also signals the involvement of private companies in developing air routes in the city in South China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region for the first time.

“Eyeing the promising future of travel routes between Liuzhou and Lijiang, we made our mind to invest in the air route after one-month’s consideration,” said Liang Hong, general manager of Guangxi Ruitong Tourism Company, which cooperated with Liuzhou Longxiang Air Route Management Company and Kunming Airline in developing the air route between Liuzhou and Lijiang in Yunnan province.

The investment in the Liuzhou and Lijiang air route is about 70 million yuan ($ 11.4 million) annually. According to Liang, his company is also involved in developing an air route between Nanning and Lijiang. The airplane tickets from Nanning and Lijiang are in high demand. At present, about 80 percent of the tickets on each flight from Liuzhou to Lijiang were sold out.

Guangxi Ruitong Tourism Company is the first private company in Liuzhou that is involved in developing air routes. Air route development used to be based on government funding. With more funding from private companies, the development of air routes in Liuzhou is expected to be on the fast track.

The number of air routes for Liuzhou Airport has increased from one in 1986 to 16 at present. The number of cities that can be connected with Liuzhou by airplane has increased from one to 22.

As many as four new air routes were put into use in Liuzhou Airport in July. Passengers can now travel to all the four municipalities in China from Liuzhou by flight.

It took Liuzhou Airport 23 years to reach an annual passenger volume of 300,000. The annual passenger volume reached 500,000 within two years since 2000. The passenger volume hit a record high of 773,000 last year. The number is expected to reach 900,000 this year.

Edited by Michael Thai