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Shi Jiangtao

Beijing's international airport was bustling  yesterday, one day after the Olympics closing ceremony.
More than 12,000 foreign athletes and  Games officials left the host city on 260 international flights, including 24 chartered ones,  airport officials said.
The number of international travellers leaving Beijing after the 17-day  Olympics reached 32,600 yesterday, twice the daily average.
Most of them chose morning flights, leaving the newly expanded terminals unusually crowded, student volunteers said.
While the 400-strong Swiss delegation was the largest, there were seven others - including those from the United States, Britain and Russia - with more than 200 members each.
Although some travellers complained about long queues at check-in and security, airport authorities said they had tried their best  to offer good service, and ensure the smooth and safe departure of Games  passengers.
A press officer surnamed Li said airport staff  were not surprised by the increase in departing passengers.
However, Xinhua reported that a bigger challenge for the airport had yet to come, with  380 Olympics-related flights leaving Beijing today,  and more than 100 flights tomorrow.
From August 1 until the opening ceremony on August 8, the airport expected to handle about 260,000  passengers a day,  which mainland civil aviation officials described as near capacity and posing unprecedented challenges.
Meanwhile, traffic authorities said 286km of Olympic traffic lanes designated for athletes, officials, dignitaries and the media in the past month would reopen to the public from Thursday.
A traffic reduction scheme  based on odd-even car registration plates,   which took almost half the city's 3.3 million cars off the roads to clear smoggy air, will also be lifted outside the Fifth Ring Road.
Olympic exodus
The number of international travellers leaving Beijing via the airport yesterday was: 32,600



Airport buzzes as visitors depart