Aircraft are parked on the apron at Lishui Airport in Zhejiang province. [Photo provided by Lishui Airport]

Lishui Airport has handled more than 200,000 passenger trips as of Feb 10, surpassing its first-year operational target more than five months ahead of schedule.

The airport, which began operations on July 18, 2025, fills a long-standing gap in civil aviation services in southwestern Zhejiang.

Within just over four months of opening, passenger throughput exceeded 100,000 on Nov 27, 2025. In the following two months, the airport further expanded capacity and services, reaching the 200,000 mark.

Airport authorities said operations have focused on safety, service upgrades, and route expansion. The cutoff time for passengers without checked baggage has been shortened to 15 minutes before departure, improving efficiency.

Transfer services have also been upgraded to cover through-check, same-airline, and interline connections within the terminal. Facilities have been improved to better serve travelers, including the addition of a children's play area and dedicated guidance and separate channels for first-time flyers, unaccompanied minors, and elderly passengers.

Flight capacity has been adjusted to meet demand on popular routes, with increased ticket supply and optimized seat allocation. The airport now offers routes covering all major first-tier cities in China and is gradually expanding connections to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta region, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and Southwest China.