The summer travel season kicked off on July 1, bringing a surge of tourists, people visiting family and students. Kunming Changshui International Airport is about to enter its peak travel period. The airport has strengthened passenger services and continued to optimize the travel experience; airlines are enriching their route networks; and border inspection authorities have developed targeted duty plans — all to make travel more worry-free and comfortable.

Passengers check in.

Kunming Changshui International Airport continues to optimize its ground services. The B2 check-in area and the B3 security check area serve as a convenient passage for passengers without checked baggage. The security check area has 16 passenger lanes and is open from 6:00 a.m. daily until the last domestic departing flight. The S1 Satellite Concourse express passage can save passengers at least 10 minutes. This service was introduced last year, and promotion efforts will be strengthened this year to help ease congestion in the departure hall and make the journey faster.

In addition, to improve the connection capacity for late-night arriving flights, three extra nighttime non-stop express trains will be added on Kunming Metro Line 6 after regular operations end, running from July 1 to September 10. The trains will depart from the Airport Center Station at 11:20 p.m., 11:40 p.m., and midnight daily, heading directly to Tangzixiang Station without any intermediate stops.

Multiple airlines are increasing frequencies or launching new popular routes and upgrading services during the summer travel season. Kunming Airlines has added routes from Kunming to Manzhouli and Hailar (via Taiyuan) as well as Kunming–Qingdao, while increasing frequencies on trunk routes centered around its four key hubs. It has enhanced its "Fly with Kids" family service, by providing children with toys, picture books, and other items, and plans to offer flight gift packs and birthday gift packs on premium routes to Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. China Eastern Airlines Yunnan Branch plans to operate approximately 19,600 flights and carry about 2.66 million passengers. It is increasing frequencies on flights from Kunming to Pudong, Daxing, Chengdu, and other cities as well as on multiple stopover routes within the province. On international routes, it is focusing on adding routes from Kunming to Phuket and Chiang Mai, and has optimized aircraft deployment on the Kunming–Singapore route.

A police officer guides a passenger in filling out an entry form. Photo taken by Tian Xinni

In terms of border crossings, the Kunming Exit-Entry Border Inspection Station expects total inbound and outbound passenger flow during the summer travel season to reach 710,000, with the peak period from July 15 to August 15. Thailand, Malaysia, Laos and Vietnam are expected to remain popular outbound destinations. The border inspection station will optimize dedicated lanes for the 24-hour and 240-hour transit visa exemption, scientifically adjust the ratio of inspection lanes for Chinese and foreign passengers, and upgrade self-service inspection equipment. At the same time, it will comprehensively upgrade customs clearance facilitation measures: promoting online pre-arrival of entry information for foreign travelers, simplifying the information filling process, setting up multilingual service desks and green channels for elderly, weak, sick, disabled or pregnant passengers, and providing expedited clearance services for tour groups and passengers with urgent travel needs.

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(Editors: Jennifer, Doe)