SHANGHAI, Feb. 23 -- Two airports in the Chinese financial hub Shanghai saw marked increases in passenger throughput in January, thanks to China's optimized COVID response and entry-exit policies, the Shanghai Customs said Thursday.

In January, the passenger throughput at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport exceeded 2.6 million, up 37.5 percent year on year. Meanwhile, Shanghai Pudong International Airport handled over 2.8 million passenger trips, an increase of 34.2 percent from a year ago.

The growth was propelled by an adjustment in response measures after China downgraded the management of COVID-19 from Class A to Class B on Jan. 8 and lifted certain epidemic-related restrictions on international passenger flights.

The customs authorities said they have initiated a raft of measures to strengthen hygiene inspection and quarantine to further boost the full recovery of the aviation industry.