Chengdu Tianfu mega airport opens in China

The international airport of Chengdu Tianfu in China has officially opened. Its inaugural flight, operated by Sichuan Airlines, took off Sunday at 11:10 a.m., bound for Beijing. The plane carried 262 passengers, followed soon after by Beijing Airlines and China Eastern. Chengdu Airlines, Spring Airlines and Lucky Air will also launch services in the coming days.

Chengdu is the third city in the country to have two international airports after Shanghai and Beijing. It cost about 70 billion Chinese yuan (more than 9 billion euros), Has the capacity to handle up to 60 million passengers annually and is a key outlet for China's southwestern region.

Three runways and two terminals are currently in operation, with a total area of 710,000 square meters. According to the planned design, the airport will eventually house terminals of 1.4 million square meters and be capable of handle 120 million passengers annually. "The new Chengdu airport was needed to contribute to continued rapid growth," said aviation analyst Brendan Sobie. "China's domestic market has already fully recovered from the pandemic and will continue to grow rapidly. Given the size of the city and its central location in China, Chengdu is very well positioned to take advantage of this."

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Chengdu Tianfu Airport: air traffic and technologies present

According to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), China's domestic traffic increased by 6.8% in April 2021, compared to April 2019. Baiyun International Airport in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou has undermined Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson to become busiest airport in 2020. Before the pandemic, the old Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport was the fourth largest in the country by passenger volume. In 2020, "it was actually the second largest as it was less affected by the pandemic than other large airports because of its high dependence on the domestic market," Sobie adds.

The new Chengdu Tianfu International Airport was designed by a consortium consisting of China Southwest Architectural Design and Research Institute, China Airport Construction Group Corporation and French architectural firm ADP Ingenierie. Phase one took five years to complete and features a number of cutting-edge technologies, including Facial recognition software, automated check-in kiosks, intelligent security systems, automatic boarding gates, and robotic concierges with artificial intelligence. A subway line connects the airport with the city center, and another, due to be completed in 2023, will connect the new facility to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.

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China's project

Chengdu Tianfu International Airport is only one of the many airports China plans to open in the coming years. The country aims to have 400 airports in use by 2035, almost double the current 241. It all stems from the transportation network planning scheme released by the government in early 2021. Among the most anticipated facilities is Beijing's huge Daxing International Airport. Designed by architect Zaha Hadid and her Chinese partners, it boasts a terminal the size of 97 soccer fields.

Prior to its opening, the city desperately needed a second global gateway. Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) was the second busiest air hub in the world and had reached full capacity, making it nearly impossible for airlines to add flights at desirable times.

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