Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport
Encyclopedia
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport (Simplified Chinese: 重庆江北国际机场, Traditional Chinese: 重慶江北國際機場, Pinyin
: Chóngqìng Jiāngběi Guójì Jīchǎng) is an airport located in the Yubei District
of Chongqing
, People's Republic of China
offering a growing network of direct flights to China, South East Asia, the Middle East and Europe. It is located 21km north of the city-centre of Chongqing and serves as an important aviation hub for south-western China. Jiangbei airport is a hub for China Southern Airlines
, Chongqing Airlines
, Sichuan Airlines
and HNA's new China West Air
, and Chongqing is a focus city of Air China
. Therefore it is very well connected with Star Alliance
and Sky Team's international network.
Currently Jiangbei airport has two terminals: Terminal 1 serving international flights; Terminal 2, Halls A and B serving domestic flights. The first, second and third phase of the airport came into operation in January 1990, December 2004, and December 2010 respectively. The domestic terminal is capable of handling 30 million passengers while its international terminal is able to handle more than 1 million passengers annually. A third terminal is currently in the planning stage along with a third runway construction due to commence shortly.
In terms of passenger traffic, Chongqing airport was the 10th busiest airport nationwide in 2010, handling 15,802,334 people. Also, the airport was the 11th busiest airport by cargo traffic and by traffic movements in China. During the first half of year 2011, Chongqing airport handled 8.87 million passengers, and surpassed Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport
(8.48 million) to become the 9th busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic in mailand China.
in 1938, Chongqing became one of the only four cities in China that had an airport in operation. In 1950, four flight routes from Tianjin, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Kunming to Chongqing became the earliest to be opened after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. However in 1965, when Civil Aviation Administration of China
founded a branch in Sichuan Province
and Chongqing Airport became subject to it. Since then, the development of Chongqing's civil aviation has come into a sudden stop, until the 1990's.
On January 22, 1990, the new airport, Jiangbei Airport was opened and it replaced the old Baishiyi Airport. The development of the civil aviation resumed. In 1997, when Chongqing City became the 4th municipality of China, Civil Aviation Administration of China established a branch in Chongqing in the same year.
In coming months, CAPA will review the progress and ambitions of Chongqing's rivals in western China. At present, Chengdu Airport, which has already been reviewed by CAPA as part of this airport series, is the largest of the ambitious western China airports. Chongqing and Xi’an however have reported the fastest growth rates recently, according to CAPA's Airport Traffic Benchmark Tool.
The phase three construction including a second runway and expansion of Terminal 2 started in 2007. Major construction included adding a second runway of 3,200 meters(which was later lengthened to 3,600 meters) to the east of the existing runway, building a parallel taxiway in between the two runways and setting up a visual aid lighting support system. It also included a second terminal building (T2A) with an area of 60,000 sq.m., 41 apron aircraft parking stands, and a freight station and support facilities occupying an area of 20,000 sq.m. It cost CNY3.3 billion(USD538 million). The project was finished at 2010. In December 22nd, 2010, the second runway came into regular use and Chongqing Airport became the 4th city in mainland China that had 2 runways operating at the same time. One of the two runways is exclusively for taking off and the other for landing.
The plan for the next ambitious expansion includes the addition of the third runway and a new terminal, Terminal 3A, which is 500,000 square meters, twice the size of the existing Terminal 1 and 2 combined. This project will cost more than CNY 20 billion. The new terminal is expected to be completed in 2015 and after completion, the airport will have 700,000 square meters of terminal space, and be among the world’s 15 largest airports with an annual passenger capacity of 60 million and an annual cargo capacity of 2 million tons.
Half of the new terminal is planned to be used for international flights to and from cities in South East Asia, East Asia, Middle Eastern Countries, Western Africa, Western Europe and North America.
in 1997, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport was very small, and had only two international flights per week. However, during the past 14 years, especially the past 5 years, more and more international routes were launched. In the year 2010, there were on average more than 70 international flights per week and in the first half of 2011, this number rose to more than a hundred. This number is expected to further rise to as many as 150 in the year 2012.
Currently most of the international destinations of Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport lie in East and Southeast Asia, including Tokyo, Seoul, Hanoi, Singapore, Bangkok, Phuket and Siem Reap. However, this is going to change very soon. Qatar Airways
and Finnair
decided this year to launch new routes to Doha
in the Middle East and Helsinki
in Europe.
Furthermore, Ethiopian Airlines
, Lufthansa
and Etihad Airways
have all shown intention of launching direct flights to and from Addis Ababa
, Frankfurt
and Abu Dhabi
in the next few years to come. Recently Delta Air Lines
sent a delegation to Chongqing, in preparation for its new route from Chongqing to North America. Hainan Airlines
is also planning to launch direct flight to Newark
(with one stop at Beijing) and non-stop flight to Paris
in due course.
Economically, Chongqing serves as the economic centre of the upstream Yangtze area. It is the major manufacturing centre and a transportation hub for southwest China and has considerable multi-national presence, with companies including Ford, Mazda, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, ANZ Bank, Scotiabank, Wal-Mart, Metro AG and Carrefour all located in the city. Its position as a technology hub will also ensure continued and rapid freight growth at the airport.
Against this backdrop, Chongqing is well placed to rise up the ranks to become one of the nation's - and Asia's - largest airports. Its ambition to become China's fourth biggest hub, although faced with some strong competition from other powerhouse cities, is very well supported by the local and central government.
There is a bus transition center between Hall A and Hall B of Terminal 2, and there stop buses to nearby cities in Sichuan and Guizhou Province, as well as satellite cities in Chongqing Municipality. Those cities include Yibin
, Zigong, Neijiang, Guang'an, Linshui, Nanchong, Nanbu, Xichong, Hejiang, Dazhou, Anyue, Dazhu, Suixian, and Suining in Sichuan Province, and Zunyi
, Chishui and Xishui in Guizhou Province, and Tongliang, Tongnan, Yongchuan, Dazu, Jiangjin, Hechuan, Beibei, Rongchang, Changshou, Dianjiang
, Zhongxian, Shizhu, Qijiang, Liangping and Wanzhou District
in Chongqing Municipality. The fairs range from CNY40 to CNY100 yuan.
Car rental service is also available at the airport.
runs from Terminal 2 to its final stop, Yudong Station, covering a distance of 60 kilometers(37.3 miles) in total. This newly constructed line was partly opened to public in September, 2011. At the end of the same year, another segment of Line 3 will be opened and from that time on, it will allow passengers to travel between the airport and the city within a very short time.
In the Terminal 3A which is currently at an early stage of construction, there is a huge underground railway station planned and will be opened in 2015 with the completion of Terminal 3A. It will connect cities as far as 300 kilometers with the airport and allow the airport to serve a lot larger population. The speed of the trains is designed to be 250 to 300 kilometers per hour, so it will only take less than one hour to get to the airport from a relatively faraway city.
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport Arrival Experience
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Chóngqìng Jiāngběi Guójì Jīchǎng) is an airport located in the Yubei District
Yubei District
Yubei District , literally means the north of Yu , is a district of Chongqing municipality. Lianglu, which is a town administered by Yubei District, is where the Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport is located....
of Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
, People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
offering a growing network of direct flights to China, South East Asia, the Middle East and Europe. It is located 21km north of the city-centre of Chongqing and serves as an important aviation hub for south-western China. Jiangbei airport is a hub for China Southern Airlines
China Southern Airlines
China Southern Airlines is an airline headquartered in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China. It is the world's sixth-largest airline measured by passengers carried, and Asia's largest airline in terms of both fleet size and passengers carried...
, Chongqing Airlines
Chongqing Airlines
Chongqing Airlines is an airline based in Chongqing, People's Republic of China. It operates domestic passenger services on mainland China.Chongqing Airlines had 402 employees in 2008.-History:...
, Sichuan Airlines
Sichuan Airlines
Sichuan Airlines Co., Ltd. is a regional airline headquartered on the grounds of Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu, Sichuan in the People's Republic of China, operating mainly scheduled domestic flights out of Chengdu Airport and Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport.- History...
and HNA's new China West Air
China West Air
West Airlines Co. Ltd. , operating as West Air, is an airline based in Chongqing, People's Republic of China, operating a scheduled passenger network to 18 domestic destinations out of Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport...
, and Chongqing is a focus city of Air China
Air China
Air China is the flag carrier and one of the major airlines of the People's Republic of China. Based in Beijing Capital International Airport, Air China is the world's 10th largest airline by fleet size. The airline ranked behind its main competitors China Southern Airlines and China Eastern...
. Therefore it is very well connected with Star Alliance
Star Alliance
Star Alliance is the world's first and largest airline alliance, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany . The alliance was founded in 1997 by five of the world's leading airlines: Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International and United Airlines...
and Sky Team's international network.
Currently Jiangbei airport has two terminals: Terminal 1 serving international flights; Terminal 2, Halls A and B serving domestic flights. The first, second and third phase of the airport came into operation in January 1990, December 2004, and December 2010 respectively. The domestic terminal is capable of handling 30 million passengers while its international terminal is able to handle more than 1 million passengers annually. A third terminal is currently in the planning stage along with a third runway construction due to commence shortly.
In terms of passenger traffic, Chongqing airport was the 10th busiest airport nationwide in 2010, handling 15,802,334 people. Also, the airport was the 11th busiest airport by cargo traffic and by traffic movements in China. During the first half of year 2011, Chongqing airport handled 8.87 million passengers, and surpassed Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport
Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport
Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport is the principal airport serving Hangzhou, a major city in the Yangtze River Delta region and the capital of Zhejiang Province, China....
(8.48 million) to become the 9th busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic in mailand China.
History
The civil aviation of Chongqing dates back to the 1920's, and boasts a history of more than 90 years. After the completion of Baishiyi AirportChongqing Baishiyi Air Base
Chongqing Baishiyi Air Base is a People's Liberation Army Air Force Base, located about 13 miles northwest of Chongqing in the People’s Republic of China.-History:...
in 1938, Chongqing became one of the only four cities in China that had an airport in operation. In 1950, four flight routes from Tianjin, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Kunming to Chongqing became the earliest to be opened after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. However in 1965, when Civil Aviation Administration of China
Civil Aviation Administration of China
The Civil Aviation Administration of China , formerly the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China , is the aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents...
founded a branch in Sichuan Province
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
and Chongqing Airport became subject to it. Since then, the development of Chongqing's civil aviation has come into a sudden stop, until the 1990's.
On January 22, 1990, the new airport, Jiangbei Airport was opened and it replaced the old Baishiyi Airport. The development of the civil aviation resumed. In 1997, when Chongqing City became the 4th municipality of China, Civil Aviation Administration of China established a branch in Chongqing in the same year.
Development
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport is currently undergoing a major expansion effort, with the ambition of obtaining international air hub status and becoming the largest airport in western China by 2035. Chongqing is one of several fast-growing airports in western China to have outlined ambitious growth plans, with Chengdu, Xi'an, Chongqing, Wuhan and Kunming all vying for the role as the nation’s fourth largest aviation hub (after Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou).In coming months, CAPA will review the progress and ambitions of Chongqing's rivals in western China. At present, Chengdu Airport, which has already been reviewed by CAPA as part of this airport series, is the largest of the ambitious western China airports. Chongqing and Xi’an however have reported the fastest growth rates recently, according to CAPA's Airport Traffic Benchmark Tool.
Airport expansion
In 2004, Terminal 2 was opened and was expected to be able to handle as many as 10 million passengers in 2010. Chongqing Jiangbei Airport became one of the largest in Western China. However, the passenger traffic grew at such a fast pace that in 2007, the airport already served more than 10 million passengers.The phase three construction including a second runway and expansion of Terminal 2 started in 2007. Major construction included adding a second runway of 3,200 meters(which was later lengthened to 3,600 meters) to the east of the existing runway, building a parallel taxiway in between the two runways and setting up a visual aid lighting support system. It also included a second terminal building (T2A) with an area of 60,000 sq.m., 41 apron aircraft parking stands, and a freight station and support facilities occupying an area of 20,000 sq.m. It cost CNY3.3 billion(USD538 million). The project was finished at 2010. In December 22nd, 2010, the second runway came into regular use and Chongqing Airport became the 4th city in mainland China that had 2 runways operating at the same time. One of the two runways is exclusively for taking off and the other for landing.
The plan for the next ambitious expansion includes the addition of the third runway and a new terminal, Terminal 3A, which is 500,000 square meters, twice the size of the existing Terminal 1 and 2 combined. This project will cost more than CNY 20 billion. The new terminal is expected to be completed in 2015 and after completion, the airport will have 700,000 square meters of terminal space, and be among the world’s 15 largest airports with an annual passenger capacity of 60 million and an annual cargo capacity of 2 million tons.
Half of the new terminal is planned to be used for international flights to and from cities in South East Asia, East Asia, Middle Eastern Countries, Western Africa, Western Europe and North America.
Surge in cargo traffic
Cargo traffic increased at an average rate of 14% in the first six months of 2011, driven by exponential growth in international cargo. International cargo/mail volumes increased by 12 times from 2010 levels in 1H2011, to more than 9000 tonnes. In 2H2011, this growth rate is expected to be maintained, with Hewlett-Packard, Asus and other brands of large international IT production capacity supporting the increase, to an anticipated 60,000 to 80,000 tonnes of international cargo throughout the whole year.New international routes
When Chongqing City became the 4th municipality of People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in 1997, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport was very small, and had only two international flights per week. However, during the past 14 years, especially the past 5 years, more and more international routes were launched. In the year 2010, there were on average more than 70 international flights per week and in the first half of 2011, this number rose to more than a hundred. This number is expected to further rise to as many as 150 in the year 2012.
Currently most of the international destinations of Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport lie in East and Southeast Asia, including Tokyo, Seoul, Hanoi, Singapore, Bangkok, Phuket and Siem Reap. However, this is going to change very soon. Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. , operating as Qatar Airways, is the flag carrier of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, it operates a hub-and-spoke network, linking over 100 international destinations from its base in Doha, using a fleet of over 100 aircraft...
and Finnair
Finnair
Finnair Plc is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters on the grounds of Helsinki Airport in Vantaa, Finland, and its main hub at Helsinki Airport. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both the domestic and international air travel markets in Finland. The largest...
decided this year to launch new routes to Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
in the Middle East and Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
in Europe.
Furthermore, Ethiopian Airlines
Ethiopian Airlines
Ethiopian Airlines , formerly Ethiopian Air Lines, often referred to as simply Ethiopian, is an airline headquartered on the grounds of Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It serves as the country's flag carrier, and is wholly owned by the Government of Ethiopia...
, Lufthansa
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...
and Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways is the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates. Established in July 2003 and based at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Etihad commenced operations in November 2003....
have all shown intention of launching direct flights to and from Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
and Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
in the next few years to come. Recently Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
sent a delegation to Chongqing, in preparation for its new route from Chongqing to North America. Hainan Airlines
Hainan Airlines
Hainan Airlines Company Limited is an airline headquartered in the HNA Development Building in Haikou, Hainan, People's Republic of China. It is the largest privately-owned air transport company and the fourth-largest airline in terms of fleet size in the People's Republic of China...
is also planning to launch direct flight to Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
(with one stop at Beijing) and non-stop flight to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in due course.
Potential
Chongqing has ambitious growth plans and the population and economic growth to support the growth of Jiangbei International Airport. The city of Chongqing has more than 30 million inhabitants, and with an area of 82,400sqm is one of the world’s largest municipality by population and one of the largest by area. It is also one of fastest growing cities in China’s interior that Beijing has targeted for growth as the country shifts some manufacturing from coastal cities to the West.Economically, Chongqing serves as the economic centre of the upstream Yangtze area. It is the major manufacturing centre and a transportation hub for southwest China and has considerable multi-national presence, with companies including Ford, Mazda, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, ANZ Bank, Scotiabank, Wal-Mart, Metro AG and Carrefour all located in the city. Its position as a technology hub will also ensure continued and rapid freight growth at the airport.
Against this backdrop, Chongqing is well placed to rise up the ranks to become one of the nation's - and Asia's - largest airports. Its ambition to become China's fourth biggest hub, although faced with some strong competition from other powerhouse cities, is very well supported by the local and central government.
Passenger
Cargo
Ground transportation
The ground transportation of CKG is developing very fast. Chongqing International Airport is building four highways around the airport as part of plans to turn Chongqing into an integrated regional transport hub in western China. There will be a 300,000sqm transportation transfer centre in T3A. It will support the construction of an inter-city rail, light rail, bus and car modes of transport. The airport owner also plans to extend two local light rail lines and the Chongqing-Wanzhou highway to the airport.Bus
Airport Shuttle Buses are easily accessible at Terminal 2. They leave for the city every half an hour, with stops at Jiazhou Bus Station, Waimao Dasha(International Commerce Mansion) and final stop, Shangqing Si. The reverse route is slightly different, with beginning stop at Shangqing Si, but only one intermediate stop at Yutong Hotel and the buses finally stop at Terminal 2. A one way ticket costs CNY15(approximately 2.4 US dollars).There is a bus transition center between Hall A and Hall B of Terminal 2, and there stop buses to nearby cities in Sichuan and Guizhou Province, as well as satellite cities in Chongqing Municipality. Those cities include Yibin
Yibin
-Administrative divisions:-Economy:The city's industry focuses on electronics, food products, and power generation. It also produces paper, silk, and leather products...
, Zigong, Neijiang, Guang'an, Linshui, Nanchong, Nanbu, Xichong, Hejiang, Dazhou, Anyue, Dazhu, Suixian, and Suining in Sichuan Province, and Zunyi
Zunyi
Zunyi is a prefecture-level city in Guizhou province in southwestern China. Along with Guiyang and Liupanshui, it is one of the most important cities of the province...
, Chishui and Xishui in Guizhou Province, and Tongliang, Tongnan, Yongchuan, Dazu, Jiangjin, Hechuan, Beibei, Rongchang, Changshou, Dianjiang
Dianjiang County
Dianjiang County is a county of Chongqing Municipality in China....
, Zhongxian, Shizhu, Qijiang, Liangping and Wanzhou District
Wanzhou District
Wanzhou District , formerly Wanxian or Wan County is a district of Chongqing Municipality of the People's Republic of China. The urban area of Wanzhou, located in the northern part of the district and on the upper reaches of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River, is 228 km away from downtown...
in Chongqing Municipality. The fairs range from CNY40 to CNY100 yuan.
Car
There is currently one airport freeway connecting the city center with the airport, and the second one has been planned.The airport freeway is 23 kilometers long, but it usually takes as many as 30 minutes to get from the city center to the airport because of the heavy traffic. Parking lot lies right in front of Terminal 1 and 2.Car rental service is also available at the airport.
Rail
Chongqing Metro Line 3Line 3, Chongqing Rail Transit
Line 3, Chongqing Rail TransitChongqing Rail Transit Line 3 runs from north to south, linking the districts separated by Chongqing's two main rivers, the Yangtze and Jialing rivers. The first phase of the line began construction on 5 April 2007, and as of late September 2011 is currently under...
runs from Terminal 2 to its final stop, Yudong Station, covering a distance of 60 kilometers(37.3 miles) in total. This newly constructed line was partly opened to public in September, 2011. At the end of the same year, another segment of Line 3 will be opened and from that time on, it will allow passengers to travel between the airport and the city within a very short time.
In the Terminal 3A which is currently at an early stage of construction, there is a huge underground railway station planned and will be opened in 2015 with the completion of Terminal 3A. It will connect cities as far as 300 kilometers with the airport and allow the airport to serve a lot larger population. The speed of the trains is designed to be 250 to 300 kilometers per hour, so it will only take less than one hour to get to the airport from a relatively faraway city.
Taxi
Taxis can easily be found in front of Arrival Halls in both Terminal 1 and 2. The flat rate fare of most taxis in Chongqing is about CNY8(USD1.3) for the prior 3 kilometers (about 1.9 miles) and then the distance surcharge is about CNY 2.1 per kilometers. It usually costs passengers at least CNY70(USD12) from the airport to downtown area in the day time, but more than CNY100(USD16) at night.See also
External links
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport Arrival Experience