Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is one of two
international airports
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer r ...
serving
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese pro ...
, the capital of China's
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
province, the other one being
Chengdu Tianfu International Airport
Chengdu Tianfu International Airport is one of two airports serving Chengdu, the capital of China's Sichuan province, the other one being Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU), and a major air hub. The site of the airport was chosen a ...
(TFU), and a major air hub. Located about southwest of downtown Chengdu to the north of
Shuangliu District
Shuangliu District () is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, Southwest China. The district covers an area of , and has a population of approximately 1,396,400 as of 2019. It is the ...
, Shuangliu airport is an important aviation hub for
Western China
Western China (, or rarely ) is the west of China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers one municipality ( Chongqing), six provinces (Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai), and three autonomous re ...
. Shuangliu Airport is one of the two core hubs for
Air China, together with
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, as well as the main hub and headquarters for
Sichuan Airlines
Sichuan Airlines Co., Ltd. () is a Chinese airline based in Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and is the largest airline in western China, operating mainly scheduled domestic and international flights out o ...
and
Chengdu Airlines
Chengdu Airlines Co., Ltd. (), a subsidiary of Sichuan Airlines, is an airline headquartered in Shuangliu District, Chengdu, China. It operates a network of scheduled domestic passenger flights out of its hub at Chengdu Shuangliu International ...
.
China Eastern Airlines
China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (), also known as China Eastern, is an airline headquartered in the China Eastern Airlines Building, on the grounds of Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Changning District, Shanghai. It i ...
,
China Southern Airlines
China Southern Airlines Company Limited is an airline headquartered in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province and is the largest airline in China. Established on 1 July 1988 following the restructuring of the CAAC Airlines that acqu ...
,
Shenzhen Airlines
Shenzhen Airlines () is an airline headquartered in Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, Guangdong. It has been a member of Star Alliance since 2012, and is currently one of two Chinese airlines that is part of ...
,
Lucky Air
Lucky Air () is a low cost carrier based in Kunming, Yunnan, China. The airline started with flights connecting Kunming with Dali and Xishuangbanna, and later expanded to other domestic and international destinations. Its main base is Kunm ...
and
Tibet Airlines
Tibet Airlines (; , abbreviated ) is an airline with its corporate headquarters and registered office in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, and operates scheduled domestic flights out of Lhasa Gonggar Airport.
History
Tibet Airlines was approved ...
also have bases at Shuangliu Airport.
Shuangliu Airport handled 55.9 million passengers in 2019, being among the world's 25 busiest airports in 2019, the
fourth-busiest in mainland China, and the busiest in western China.
Overview
History
The airport, formerly named Shuangguisi Airport, opened as an auxiliary military airfield in 1938 during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
/
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. At the time, its runway was only large enough for small biplanes. It was also where the
Republic of China Air Force
The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based ...
Polikarpov I-15
The Polikarpov I-15 (russian: И-15) was a Soviet biplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s. Nicknamed ''Chaika'' (''russian: Чайка'', "Seagull") because of its gulled upper wings,Gunston 1995, p. 299.Green and Swanborough 1979, p. 10. it was ...
fighters of the
5th Pursuit Group
The 5th Pursuit Group was an Air Service, United States Army unit that was assigned to the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. It was demobilized in Germany after serving with the Third Army Air Service as part of the American Occu ...
were based for aerial defense of the Chengdu area against Imperial Japanese bomber raids;this following the Chinese retreat from
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city an ...
to
Chungking
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Coun ...
(now Chongqing) as the new
provisional capital A temporary capital or a provisional capital is a city or town chosen by a government as an interim base of operations due to some difficulty in retaining or establishing control of a different metropolitan area. The most common circumstances leadin ...
in aftermath of the
Battle of Wuhan against the Imperial Japanese onslaught. Civilian targets were indiscriminately bombed, and ace fighter pilot of the Chinese Air Force Major
Wong Sun-shui, Captain
Cen Zeliu
Cen Zeliu (; 1912–1941), also Shum Tsak-lau ''(Cantonese)'': was born in Enping, Guangdong, China. He trained in the Guangdong provincial aviation academy as a fighter pilot, graduating in 1934, and attached to the provincial warlord air for ...
and Lieutenant Lin Heng (younger brother of renowned architect and poet
Lin Huiyin
Lin Huiyin (; known as Phyllis Lin or Lin Whei-yin when in the United States; 10 June 1904 – 1 April 1955) was a Chinese architect and writer. She is known to be the first female architect in modern China and her husband the famed "Father of M ...
) flying in their I-15 fighter planes were all killed over Shuangliu air base as a result of battling against the most advanced fighter aircraft of the time; the
Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" (Reisen) fighter, in defense of Chengdu on 14 March 1941.
When the U.S. was shocked into
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
with the
Pearl Harbor attack
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ...
, the airport became known as "Shwangliu Airfield" as it was later used by the
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
Fourteenth Air Force as part of the China Defensive Campaign (1942–1945). It was used as a fighter base by the
33d Fighter Group
''033'' or ''Zero Three Three'' is a 2010 Bengali film directed by Birsa Dasgupta in a directorial debut and produced by Moxie Entertainments. It stars Rudranil Ghosh and Parambrato Chattopadhyay.
033 is the STD code for Kolkata city, and the ...
, which flew
P-47 Thunderbolt
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bom ...
fighter-bombers from the airport in 1944 to support Chinese ground forces, and also by reconnaissance units that operated camera-equipped
P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive tw ...
s that located Japanese forces and provided intelligence to the fighter-bombers. The Americans closed their facilities at Shwangliu Airfield at the end of August 1945.
On 12 December 1956, the Shuangguisi Airport was put under civil aviation, which was then formally listed as a civil aviation airport and renamed Chengdu Shuangliu Airport. In 1957, the flights of Chengdu civil aviation were shifted to Shuangliu Airport from
Guanghan Airport. The flight courses from Chengdu were thus opened to various cities within China including Beijing,
Taiyuan,
Xi'an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...
, Chongqing,
Kunming,
Guiyang, and
Nanchong. The airport went through several earlier expansions in 1959, 1967, 1983 and 1991 respectively.
Current status
A large-scale expansion was conducted on flight area and navigation area from 1994 to 2001. The runway was extended to with Class 4E rating, allowing for larger jumbo jets including the
Boeing 747-400. The newly built terminal building was incorporated with a three-parallel-porch design, accommodating an hourly capacity of 3,500 passengers during rush hours, while the previous terminal building was only designated for regional flights within
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
and
Chongqing.
The airport is now an international civil airport with flights to more than 50 international destinations and over 170 domestic airports, and is a hub for
Chengdu Airlines
Chengdu Airlines Co., Ltd. (), a subsidiary of Sichuan Airlines, is an airline headquartered in Shuangliu District, Chengdu, China. It operates a network of scheduled domestic passenger flights out of its hub at Chengdu Shuangliu International ...
,
Air China and
Sichuan Airlines
Sichuan Airlines Co., Ltd. () is a Chinese airline based in Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and is the largest airline in western China, operating mainly scheduled domestic and international flights out o ...
. It is linked to downtown Chengdu by the Airport Expressway, the
Chengdu–Mianyang–Leshan intercity railway
Chengdu–Mianyang–Leshan intercity railway () is a higher-speed intercity railway in Sichuan Province that connects Mianyang, Chengdu, Deyang, Meishan, Emei and Leshan. The line is in length and can accommodate trains traveling at the speed o ...
and the newly built
Chengdu Metro
The Chengdu Metro is the rapid transit system of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, China. With the opening of Line 1 on 27 September 2010, the system consists of 12 subway lines and 1 light rail line. It has subsequently undergone rapid expansion. ...
line 10 which has stations in both terminals.
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
launched the first intercontinental air route from Chengdu, to
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
, on 28 May 2006.
The construction of its second runway started from late 2008, and service commenced in December 2009. The completed new runway, in length and in width, upgraded the previous flight area rating from 4E to 4F, capable of handling the
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
.
The new Terminal 2 has started construction in June 2009; trial operations began on 28 July 2012 with limited airlines and was officially opened on 9 August 2012 for all domestic airlines other than Sichuan Airlines. T1 is split into Domestic and International wings, and retained all international flights from airlines within and outside China. The new terminal is twice the size of the current T1, and allows the airport to handle up to 50 million passengers annually.
On 9 June 2014,
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. began operating a nonstop service from
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
to Chengdu, connecting central China to the United States non-stop for the first time. Service to the US has since expanded, as
Hainan Airlines
Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd. (HNA, ) is an airline headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, People's Republic of China. The airline is rated as a 5-star airline by Skytrax. It is the largest civilian-run and majority state-owned air transport company, ...
now offers nonstop service from Chengdu to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
and began nonstop service to
New York–JFK in October 2017.
In addition,
Sichuan Airlines
Sichuan Airlines Co., Ltd. () is a Chinese airline based in Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and is the largest airline in western China, operating mainly scheduled domestic and international flights out o ...
and
Air China have many international routes in this airport.
With the opening of
Chengdu Tianfu Airport on 27 June 2021,
it is planned for most international and cargo routes to be moved away from Shuangliu Airport, which is to mainly operate domestic flights going forward.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Other facilities
China Southwest Airlines
China Southwest Airlines (CSWA, ) was an airline with its head office on the property of Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Shuangliu County, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China. On 28 October 2002, China Southwest Airlines was ...
once had its headquarters on the airport property.
["World Airline Directory." '']Flight International
''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's old ...
''. 1–7 April 1998
57
"Shuangliu Airport, Chengdu, 610202, Sichuan, China"
Statistics
Ground transportation
Airport buses
![Entrance C of Terminal 2 of Shuangliu International Airport Station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Entrance_C_of_Terminal_2_of_Shuangliu_International_Airport_Station.jpg)
* Airport Bus No. 1, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport - City Centre (Minshan Hotel, Section 2 of Renmin Road South, Metro station of Jinjiang Hotel); single ticket: ¥10.
* Airport Bus No. 2, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport -
Chengdu railway station
Chengdu railway station () is a major railway station in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. The station is located on North Second Ring Road, Jinniu District, to the North of the city centre. It is operated by China Railway Chengdu Group ...
(North Railway Station); single ticket: up to ¥10.
* Airport Bus No. 3, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport -
Chengdu East railway station
Chengdu East or Chengdudong railway station () is a railway station in Chenghua District, Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, serving the Chengdu–Chongqing intercity railway, the Chengdu–Guiyang high-speed railway, the Dazhou–Chen ...
(Chengdu Dong Railway Station); single ticket: ¥12.
Taxi
It costs about RMB 60 Yuan from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport to the city centre of Chengdu.
High-speed train (CRH)
Passengers can take the CRH train at
Shuangliu Airport railway station to
Chengdu South railway station and
Chengdu East railway station
Chengdu East or Chengdudong railway station () is a railway station in Chenghua District, Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, serving the Chengdu–Chongqing intercity railway, the Chengdu–Guiyang high-speed railway, the Dazhou–Chen ...
; single tickets are about ¥11 (US$1.5). The CRH trains at Shuangliu Airport railway station are also bound for Mianyang, Deyang, Meishan Dong (East), Leshan railway and Emeishan railway stations.
Metro
Two stations on
Line 10 of the
Chengdu Metro
The Chengdu Metro is the rapid transit system of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, China. With the opening of Line 1 on 27 September 2010, the system consists of 12 subway lines and 1 light rail line. It has subsequently undergone rapid expansion. ...
links Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport with
Taipingyuan station
Taipingyuan () is a transfer station on Line 3, Line 7 and Line 10 of the Chengdu Metro
The Chengdu Metro is the rapid transit system of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, China. With the opening of Line 1 on 27 September 2010, the system co ...
. The stations are
Terminal 1 of Shuangliu International Airport station
Terminal 1 of Shuangliu International Airport () is a Metro station, station on Line 10 (Chengdu Metro), Line 10 of the Chengdu Metro in China. It was opened on 6 September 2017. The station serves Terminal 1 of Chengdu Shuangliu International Air ...
and
Terminal 2 of Shuangliu International Airport station
Terminal 2 of Shuangliu International Airport () is a station on Line 10 of the Chengdu Metro in China. It was opened on 6 September 2017. The station serves Terminal 2 of Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport
Chengdu Shuangliu Internati ...
which serves Terminals 1 and 2 respectively. It was opened on 6 September 2017.
See also
*
List of airports in China
This is a list of public airports in the People's Republic of China grouped by provincial level division and sorted by main city served. It includes airports that are being built or scheduled for construction, but excludes defunct airports and ...
References
External links
*
{{Use dmy dates, date=January 2021
Airports in Sichuan
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in China
Airports established in 1938
1938 establishments in China
Transport in Chengdu
Buildings and structures in Chengdu