SHANGHAI -- Two airports in the Chinese financial hub Shanghai saw marked increases in passenger throughput in January, thanks to China's optimized COVID response and entry-exit policies, the Shanghai Customs said Thursday.

In January, the passenger throughput at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport exceeded 2.6 million, up 37.5 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, Shanghai Pudong International Airport handled over 2.8 million passenger trips, an increase of 34.2 percent from a year ago.

The growth was propelled by an adjustment in response measures after China downgraded the management of COVID-19 from Class A to Class B on Jan 8 and lifted certain epidemic-related restrictions on international passenger flights.

The customs authorities said they have initiated a raft of measures to strengthen hygiene inspection and quarantine to further boost the full recovery of the aviation industry.