PASSENGERS have voted the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport as one of the best airports on the Chinese mainland for its service in 2005.

The country's civil aviation industry association awarded the 2005 "Best Service" honor to the airport and three other airports with an annual passenger flow of over 10 million Friday.

The airport saw a sharp increase of passengers, especially international passengers in 2005, when it handled 15.74 million passengers, up 10.4 percent from the year 2004. It witnessed 448,900 international passengers in 2005, up 91 percent from 2004. The airport authority attributed the rise to increasing tourism and business opportunities of the city.

In 2005, the number of international passenger flight routes of the airport more than doubled to 13. Seven new international passenger flights were opened, including flights to Seoul, Manila, Ho Chi Minh, Kuala Lumpur, Osaka, Incheon, and Delhi. The airport now handles 99 international flights each week.

Although it is the fourth-biggest airport on the mainland, the airport earned more profits than any other mainland airports last year. Its profits reached 475 million yuan (US$58 million) last year, up 22.42 percent from 2004.

Editor: Yan