Beijing Capital International Airport and the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport of Athens on Tuesday signed a twinning memorandum as the previous and upcoming Olympic host-city airports.
 
Beijing's airport is now preparing to receive and see-off visitors for the 2008 Olympic Games - a feat that Athens airport performed successfully four years ago.
 
The agreement seals the cooperation between the two airports, with Athens pledging to assist in the optimal organisation of airport services at Beijing during the crucial period of the Games, and the Chinese side promising to improve air links between Beijing and Athens, while both have pledged to participate in international cooperation for developmental projects and exchange of know-how in management and technology.
 
The MoC was signed on Tuesday morning at Terminal 3 in Beijing Airport, in the presence of Greece's ambassador to China Michael Kambanis, members of the Beijing Olympics Organising Committee and other officials.

Caption: Firefighting engines shoot streams over water over the first China Air passenger jet to land at Athens' Eleftherios Venizelos Airport in a file photo dated Thursday, 29 November 2007. The flight linked the Greek capital with Beijing via a stop in the Gulf.