Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport operates 187 routes to 128 cities across the world. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The international transit passenger volume of Gaoqi International Airport in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, rose to 5th in China recently, becoming one of the major domestic international transit airports, according to Xiamen transport bureau.

The primary reason for the steady growth of international transit passengers is the more complete route layout of the airport, according to one of its officials.

Xiamen airport has now launched 187 routes to 128 cities, and is developing into an international air transit hub covering Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania.

Also, policies such as the 144-hour visa-free transit help airlines improve efficiency, optimize services and promote the leap-forward development of Xiamen's international transit hub.

Official data shows that, in the past five years, the annual average increase of international transit passenger volume has exceeded 130,000, up about 80 percent each year.