Passenger planes park at Putuoshan Airport in Zhoushan. [Photo/WeChat account: zjzsrbs]

Putuoshan Airport in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province aims to develop into a medium-sized international airport and an important general aviation base in the Yangtze River Delta that supports the region's aviation industry manufacturing base.

The latest development targets were set by the airport in its recently approved overall planning.

According to the plan, the airport's passenger throughput, freight throughput, and number of flights will reach 5.6 million, 16,000 metric tons, and 51,000 respectively by 2035.

By 2025, the three figures will increase to 10 million, 50,000 tons, and 86,000 respectively.

The airport's runway and linking taxiway will be extended from 700 meters to 3,200 meters, while another 30,000-square meter terminal will be established.

The existing airport apron will be further expanded to include 22 parking spots for passenger planes in total.

Over the past five years, Putuoshan Airport has experienced rapid development with an annual 23 percent increase in air traffic service.

In 2019, the airport's passenger throughput jumped 25.82 percent year-on-year to 1.52 million, while 24,190 flights landed and took off at the airport.

In the first seven months of the year, the airport's freight throughput and number of flights totaled 1.06 million and 13,914 respectively, 22 percent and 6 percent higher than the figures in 2019.

Currently, Putuoshan Airport operates dozens of routes connecting to Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen, Tianjin, and other major cities in China, with more than 440 flights entering and departing the airport.