LHASA — Airports in Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region handled a record high of 2.07 million passengers in the first half of 2017, the regional civil aviation authority said Wednesday.

The passenger flow was 11.8 percent higher than the same period last year.

A total of 19,600 flights took off or landed at Tibet's airports from January to June this year, up 5.2 percent year-on-year. Cargo throughput also rose 26.2 percent to 15,900 metric tons on a yearly basis during the same period, the authority said.

An official told Xinhua that they expect to welcome 4.5 million passengers in 2017, with July and August the peak tourist season on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, known for its breathtaking scenery of snow mountains and emerald lakes.

Tibet currently has 72 direct flight routes.