World Routes; Get Your News here

World Routes kicks off in just three days, with this year's event in Beijing attracting a record number of Chinese airport delegates (including representatives from Beijing Capital International Airport, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport and Mangshi Airport), along with 85 Chinese airline delegates, from carriers such as Air China, China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines.

Here is just some of the news that has been highlighted in the run-up to the event by participating companies:

• Marseille-Provence Airport has had a record-breaking summer, having exceeded 100 direct routes during the peak season and by registering 3.9% traffic growth during the first six months of the year. The airport attributed its strong performance to its low-cost terminal, which currently serves 31 destinations in France, Morocco and Europe.

• Leeds Bradford and bmi marked 10 years of service to Edinburgh earlier in September. "Such a landmark really demonstrates how popular the route is for both business and leisure travellers," said Peter Kenworthy, commercial director of bmi Regional.

• Houston Airport System believes the new air cargo facility at George Bush Intercontinental will make a real difference to Houston-based importers and distributors of perishable products. Operated by Tradewind Cargo Handling, the facility offers a broad range of import and export value-added services, including pre-cooling imports, sorting imports and re-labeling imports prior to shipment to distribution centres or retail outlets.

• BAA's London Stansted has highlighted its investment at the gateway. Over £80 million has been spent on upgrading the terminal and other facilities including the retail, arrivals and parking areas. There are plans to invest an addition £100 million over the coming five years.

• Next month Poland's Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport marks its 60th birthday and the gateway has reason to celebrate, having achieved a 9% year-on-year increase in passengers this August. The airport also secured new services from Lufthansa, Ryanair and LOT in the past year.

• Queen Alitalia International Airport handled an additional 28,428 passengers in the first six months of 2009, a rise of 1.4% on last year. June proved to be the busiest month for passenger traffic, with 426,286 visitors, an increase of 5.28% compared with 2008.

• Gold Coast Airport in Australia has installed a modern baggage handling system as part of its A$100 million LCC terminal redevelopment programme. The new BCS Group system includes an enhanced inline check bag screening using L3 automated explosive detection X-ray machines, oversize line and sortation system, bag tracing and airline communication system.

• Finavia has reduced its civil aviation traffic charges by an average of 10% in a move it described as a "helping hand" for its airline cients. The reductions, which are directed at landing, passenger and security charges, took effect on September 1 and will continue until the end of the year. The airport operator said it was hopeful that it could maintain the discount in its 2010 charges.

By: Oliver Clark and Lucy Siebert