Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) has received its 40 millionth passengers as of Friday, enabling the airport to be listed in the top 20 airports in the world.

BCIA is China's number one gateway, normally termed as the window to the outside world. So far, there are altogether 53 passenger airline companies at the airport, including nine domestic ones and 41 foreign ones.

The airport had received its 30 millionth passenger by Nov. 9, 2004. And the number kept increasing since early 2005, with average growth rate reaching 16 percent.

Aviation insiders said that the development of BCIA reflected China's growth in aviation industry. China's total aviation turnover reached 25.6 billion metric ton kilometers in 2005, with 139 million passengers transported.

(Xinhua News Agency December 24, 2005)