Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, an aviation hub in South China's Guangdong province, has handled about 140,000 inbound and outbound passenger visits in the first three days of the Spring Festival travel rush period, which began Tuesday.

A daily average of about 46,000 passengers entered and exited the Chinese mainland through the airport, according to a statement released on Friday by the Baiyun Immigration Inspection Station.

Spurred by the approaching Chinese New Year holiday and the implementation of the new 240-hour visa-free transit policy for foreigners, the passenger flow at Baiyun Airport has increased in popularity, said the statement.

Since December 17, China's National Immigration Administration has relaxed and optimized the visa-free transit policy, extending the stay of transit visa-free foreigners in the mainland from 72 hours and 144 hours to 240 hours (10 days).

As of the end of Thursday, more than 2,000 passengers had enjoyed the convenience of the 240-hour visa-free transit policy to arrive in the mainland via Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport within the prior 30 days, an increase of 124 percent compared with the figure one month before and a year-on-year growth of 29 percent, according to the statement.

Most of the foreign passengers who landed at the airport using the new visa-free transit policy are from Russia, the United States, the UK, Canada and other American and European countries and regions, the statement said.

The number of passengers from Russia saw a month-on-month increase of 230 percent, it said.

Nearly 80 percent of the foreign passengers transited to other mainland cities after entering the country through the southern metropolis, known as the southern gateway of the country, said the statement.

Jiang Mingzhe, director of the inspection division with the Baiyun Immigration Inspection Station, said the station has optimized immigration procedures and provided even better service to foreign passengers to promote the implementation of the 240-hour visa-free transit policy and ensure the smooth customs clearance of transit passengers in the previous month.