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 provin ...

, 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 t ...

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 ...

(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 autonomou ...

. Shuangliu Airport is one of the two core hubs for

Air China Air China Limited () is the flag carrier of the People's Republic of China and one of the "Big Three" mainland Chinese airlines (alongside China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines). Air China's headquarters are in Shunyi District ...

, together with

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

, 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 ...

and Chengdu Airlines.

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 o ...

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 appro ...

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 T ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. 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 Occ ...

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 a ...

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 in aftermath of the

Battle of Wuhan The Battle of Wuhan (武漢之戰), popularly known to the Chinese as the Defense of Wuhan, and to the Japanese as the Capture of Wuhan, was a large-scale battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Engagements took place across vast areas of Anhui ...

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) 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

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 The Fourteenth Air Force (14 AF; Air Forces Strategic) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). It was headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The command was responsible for the organiza ...

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 th ...

, 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-bomb ...

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 ...

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 Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...

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 Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

Guiyang Guiyang (; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), historically rendered as Kweiyang, is the capital of Guizhou province of the People's Republic of China. It is located in the center of the province, situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, ...

, and

Nanchong Nanchong (; Sichuanese: lan2cong1) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of Sichuan province, China, with an area of . At the 2020 census it was home to 5,607,565 people, of whom 1,936,534 lived in the built-up (or 'metro') area made of th ...

. 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 Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeti ...

. 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

and

Chongqing 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 Co ...

. 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,

and

. It is linked to downtown Chengdu by the Airport Expressway, the Chengdu–Mianyang–Leshan intercity railway 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 17t ...

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 largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and began nonstop service to New York–JFK in October 2017. In addition,

and

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

201908 Terminal 1 of Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport

Shuangliu Airport International Departure (14774006827)

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 olde ...

''. 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

* 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–Chengd ...

(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. Transporting system of Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport

Transporting system of Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport

High-speed train (CRH)

Passengers can take the CRH train at Shuangliu Airport railway station to Chengdu South railway station and

; 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

links Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport with Taipingyuan station. The stations are Terminal 1 of Shuangliu International Airport station and Terminal 2 of Shuangliu International Airport station which serves Terminals 1 and 2 respectively. It was opened on 6 September 2017.

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