Meilan airport in this capital of China's southernmost province of Hainan has become the eighth largest airport for civil aviation in the country.

The airport has handled about 100,000flights to and from Haikou,involving 8.3million passengers and 130,000tons of goods and mails since it was put into operation three years ago.

Meilan became the first airport in China last August to be controlled by an airline company,when the Hainan Airlines Group Co took control of the money-losing airport as its controlling shareholder.

The airport,originally owned by six shareholding companies,has a total capital stock of 1.35billion yuan, twice as much as its starting capital stock.

(Eastday.com.cn 06/11/2001)