A mechanical engineer of China Southern Airlines checks a plane at the Meilan International Airport in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Jan. 9, 2020. Staff members of China Southern Airlines have enhanced maintenance to secure the safety and smooth operation during the Spring Festival travel rush season. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

HAIKOU, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- More than 6.7 million passengers are expected to be transported via two major airports in southern China's island province of Hainan during the Spring Festival travel rush which starts on Friday.

Haikou Meilan International Airport is expected to handle 22,092 flights with an average of 552 flights per day, up 2.86 percent year on year; the passenger throughput will hit 3.58 million with an average of 89,500 passengers per day, up 1.92 percent year on year.

Sanya Phoenix International Airport is expected to handle 16,880 flights and about 3.16 million passengers, with a year-on-year increase of 8.2 percent and 4.6 percent respectively.

Several airlines including Hainan Airlines and Southern Airlines plan to increase the number of flights from Haikou to hot tourism destinations such as Beijing, Shanghai and Myanmar's Rangoon to 1,594, which will offer more than 250,000 seats.

The Spring Festival holiday, a traditional time for family reunions, runs from Jan. 24 to 30 this year, while the travel rush, also known as "chunyun," will last for 40 days from Jan. 10 to Feb. 18. ■