Beijing Capital International Airport is ready to receive an estimated 100,000 Olympic family visitors, a spokesman for the organizing committee said on Sunday.
He Yan, secretary-general of the Beijing Capital International Airport Venue Team, said although the team began officially receiving accredited Olympic members only on July 8, a number of others had arrived earlier.
"About 1,000 Olympic family members have so far arrived, most of them from the media," He said.
The number of arrivals - including VIPs, officials, athletes, media personnel and sponsors - will continue to rise until Aug 7, he said.
Some small groups of athletes have arrived, but the main charter flights will not be here until Sunday onward, he said.
The arrival of such a large number of guests is a challenge, but the airport is fully prepared, He said.
To help speed up the processing of arrivals, the venue team has provided foreign airlines with DVDs to be shown during flights, which explain what will happen once passengers arrive at the airport, he said.
An information center staffed by volunteers has been set up, and exclusive Olympic lanes have been opened to ensure the swift passage of arriving passengers through customs, immigration and other security checks, he said.
About 2,200 volunteers, all of whom are college students from Beijing, will be based at Beijing Capital International airport during the Games, with up to 500 of them on duty at any one time. They will provide help and information in eight languages, He said.
(Xinhua News Agency July 22, 2008)