Beijing airport aims for flight punctuality

BEIJING • Beijing Capital International Airport, the busiest in China, will increase ground resources and reduce the number of flights to improve flight punctuality, the media reported yesterday.

Improvements are planned to the airport's operations resources, such as improving the runway and taxiway system, increasing the number of spaces on the ground for aircraft and enhancing shuttle efficiency.

Many Chinese airports have on-time performance issues. In July, the national flight punctuality rate was 50.76 per cent.

Nearly half of all flights were delayed or cancelled.

CHINA DAILY/NEWS ASIA NETWORK

Six killed, 18 hurt in Mumbai building fire

MUMBAI • Six people died when a fire swept through a building in Mumbai, officials said yesterday, the latest housing tragedy to strike India's bustling financial capital.

An exploding gas cylinder sparked the blaze at the unfinished building used by labourers and their families. Eighteen people were hurt in the blast, local government official Tanaji Kamble said, twelve of them critically.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE