The Macao International Airport has made provision for a tipped passenger peak in the forthcoming Spring Festival break, a traditional red-letter day for family reunion and tours which falls on February 12.

The airport is projected to add six to seven flights on the busy routes to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Sanya, Beijing andNingbo per day between February 9 to 14, the authorities told Xinhua.

Air carriers, such as Air Macao, Hainan Airlines and Xiamen Airlines, plan to provide additional services on a chartered basis.

The Spring Festival period is usually the first transport peak in a year for the airport, given that a large number of Taiwan business people will return for the holiday, and Macao residents and the Chinese inlanders will make tours to southeast Asian countries and regions, both via Macao.

The Macao International Airport has now business links with 21 cities in the world, involving 580 flights weekly. Between China'sinland and Macao, there are 14 air routes.

The airport recorded brisk business in 2001 in defiance of the negative impact of the September 11 terrorist attack in the United States, posting a 17 percent rise from the previous year in the total number of passengers handled to 3.8 million.

( Xinhua News Agency January 21, 2002)