The number of passenger and cargo flights flying to and from China via the airport in Tianjin, north China's largest port city, saw a 42 percent rise year-on-year to 1,137 during the first four months this year, with passengers aboard rising 49 percent to exceed 106,200.

The big rise was a result of the increase both in chartered cargo flights operated by overseas airlines and in non-stop chartered passenger flights linking the airport with overseas air hubs, said local customs.

New chartered cargo flights were offered this year by overseas airways, linking Shanghai and Amsterdam, the Netherlands, via Tianjin, and those linking Tianjin with Nagoya, Japan, Seoul, the Republic of Korea, and Istanbul, Turkey.

Thai Airways offered two chartered flights every week for tourists flying from Tianjin to Bangkok, greatly shoring up local air traffic volume.