From Tuesday on to September 26, China will allow operation of midnight flights in 20 busy airports.

Midnight flights will also be allowed during the 15-day National Holiday period. Other than that, midnight flights will still not be allowed, according to Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The 20 airports will include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dalian, Chengdu, Sanya, and so on.

The resumption of midnight flights was attributed to the sharp increase of passengers during the summer season. It can also solve the problem of busy slot time in airports, as well as raise the aircraft efficiency, CAAC said.

Some 28 million passengers are expected to be transported during the summer peak season this year, up 15 percent compared with the previous year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2005)