The Macao International Airport handled more than 1.5 million passengers in the first five months of this year, up 23 percent from the same 2000 period, according to latest statistics.

The sound performance was mainly attributed to the increasing influx of tourists along with improving tourism image of the region.

The number of airplane landing and taking-off reached more than 12,000 in the five-month period, an increase of 12 percent from a year ago.

On the other hand, cargo traffic also climbed 2 percent to 27, 300 tons in the five months. However, mail traffic by air continued to decrease.

The Macao International Airport had the best performance in 2000 since its commenced operation in 1995, handling 3.24 million passengers last year.

With an investment of 8.9 billion patacas (US$ 1.1 billion ), the Macao airport was built on a patch of land reclaimed from the sea, consisting of a parking area, two bridge approaches and a runway.

(People's Daily 06/05/2001)