During the seven-day New Year holiday, 1,291 flights exited or entered Beijing, up 15.6 percent on last year, the Capital Airport Customs reported on Monday.

The customs registered 180,000 exit or entry passenger-trips via the Capital Airport during the "Golden Week," from Jan. 29 to Feb. 4, 6.4 percent more than in the same period last year.

As the number of passengers and flights increased sharply, the Beijing Customs launched an emergency scheme for customs clearance. They also opened up alternative passageways at the Capital Airport and the Beijing West Railway Station to improve passenger-flow, said the Customs officers.

The Beijing Customs introduced an appointment service so that the imports and exports could go through customs formalities without delay.

Over the holiday, the Beijing Customs saw a total of 1,837 customs declarations, the officers said.

(Xinhua News Agency February 7, 2006)