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Beijing Capital international airport announced that its passenger throughput for 2007 hit 50m this week and could reach more than 53m by the end of the year.

This could lead to the Chinese hub becoming the world's eighth busiest airport by passenger numbers.

According to figures from the Airports Council International (ACI), some 48.6m travellers passed through Beijing in 2006, making it the ninth busiest base behind Frankfurt.

The 50m milestone was reached on 5 December this year when Li Bianzhuo arrived in Beijing on board a China Southern flight from Guangzhou.

Professor Li Xiaojin, of the Civil Aviation University of China in Tianjin, told China Daily: 'The 50m mark is a critical point. In the days after it is reached, airport growth would be even faster than before.'

According to the ACI, Atlanta airport was the busiest air hub in the world in 2006, with 84.8m passengers, followed by Chicago O'Hare (77m) and London Heathrow (67.5m).

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