BEIJING — Beijing Capital International Airport remained the top of all Chinese airports in terms of passenger throughput, handling more than 100 million passenger trips in 2019, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

Its 2019 annual air passenger throughput dropped 1 percent from 2018, as the Chinese capital embraced the operation of its second airport of Beijing Daxing International Airport on Sept 25, 2019.

Following the Beijing Capital International Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport recorded around 76.15 million and 73.38 million passenger trips in 2019, respectively.

In the air cargo sector, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Beijing Capital International Airport and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport were the top three Chinese airports.

Airports are key public infrastructures that sustain the continuous and fast growth of China's civil aviation industry. Over the 2009 to 2019 period, the amount of China's certified civil airports grew from 158 to 238. Eight airports advanced to the world's top 50 airports.

Strengthening the civil aviation industry is paying off the country's decades of persistent efforts with enhanced capacity and manifesting industry cluster effect.

China has seen significant airport cluster growth. In 2019, major airport clusters in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta realized air cargo throughput of around 2.26 million, 5.69 million and 3.26 million tonnes, respectively.

In the air passenger throughput sector, the three airport clusters registered around 147 million, 266 million and 142 million passenger trips in 2019, respectively.

Airports are key public infrastructures that sustain the continuous and fast growth of China's civil aviation industry, which has been cultivated as one of the country's strategic industries.