Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is the main airport serving Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, as well as the whole Guanzhong area. Covering an area of , it is the largest airport in

Northwest China Northwest China () is a statistical region of China which includes the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia and the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai. It has an area of 3,107,900 km2. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid con ...

, and the second largest airport in Northern China. The airport was the hub for

China Northwest Airlines China Northwest Airlines Co., Ltd. (中国西北航空公司) was an airline based in China, with its headquarters in Xi'an, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China. It started operations in 1989. In 2002, the airline, along with China Yunnan Airlin ...

until the company was merged into

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 is ...

in 2002. Xi'an Airport is also the hub for

Joy Air Joy Air () is a Chinese airline launched jointly by China Eastern Airlines and AVIC I on March 29, 2008 based at Xi'an. The airline started testing service in June 2009, and commenced passenger service at the end of 2009. On December 14, 2020, H ...

and

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, ...

. Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is a

Skytrax Skytrax (originally known as Inflight Research Services) is a United Kingdom–based consultancy which runs an airline and airport review and ranking site. Services Skytrax conducts research for commercial airlines, as well as taking surveys ...

4-star airport. In 2018, the airport handled 44,650,000 passengers, making it the busiest airport in northwest China. It is the ninth busiest airport nationwide. Xi'an Xianyang International Airport was also the nation's 9th busiest airport in terms of cargo traffic and the 7th busiest airport by traffic movements.

Location

The airport is located within the administrative area of

Xianyang Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an metrop ...

city, which gives the airport its name. It is northwest of Xi'an city centre, and northeast of the centre of Xianyang.

History

Before Xianyang Airport was built, Xi'an was served by

Xi'an Xiguan Airport Xi'an Xiguan Airport () was the airport serving Xi'an, capital of China's Shaanxi Province. It was closed on 1 September 1991, when all flights were transferred to the new Xi'an Xianyang International Airport. History The Xi'an Xiguan Airfield ...

. In 1984, the State Council of China and the Central Military Commission proposed to build a large civil airport on the site of Xianyang's airfield. Phase 1 of the airport commenced construction in August 1987, and was finished and opened on 1 September 1991. Xi'an Xiguan Airport was closed at the same time. Phase 2 started in August 2000, and was finished on 16 September 2003. Another 7.592-billion-yuan project is scheduled to be completed by 2020.

Finnair Finnair ( fi, Finnair Oyj, sv, Finnair Abp) is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and internationa ...

's service to

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

was the first intercontinental route out of Xi'an, launching on 14 June 2013. It is now a seasonal route.

Terminal 3 and second runway

Terminal 3 and the second runway were opened on 3 May 2012, increasing the airport's capacity to more than 33 million passengers a year. The new terminal alone can handle 22 million passengers a year, twice as many as the other two terminals combined. Airlines that moved into the new terminal are

China Southern Airlines China Southern Airlines Company Limited is an airline headquartered in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province and is the largest airline in China. Established on 1 July 1988 following the restructuring of ...

, and

Shanghai Airlines Shanghai Airlines () is an airline headquartered in Shanghai. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, but its operations remain separate post-merger, retaining its distinct brand and livery. Shanghai Airlines operates domestic ...

. The second runway is 3,800 meters long and is large enough to handle 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 ...

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Interior view of Xi'an International Airport - panoramio

Statistics

Ground transportation

Eight airport bus routes connect the airport well with the Xi'an and Xianyang city. There are also long-distance buses which connect the airport with

Baoji () is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi. Geography The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a population of 3,321,853 accordin ...

, Yangling,

Lintong Lintong District (), formerly Lintong County, is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, Northwest China. The district was approved to establish from the former ''Lintong County'' () by th ...

Hancheng Hancheng () is a city in Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China, about 125 miles northeast of Xi'an, at the point where the south-flowing Yellow River enters the Guanzhong Plain. It is a renowned historic city, containing numerous historic ...

Hanzhong Hanzhong (; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gansu to the west. The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was once enfeoffed as the ...

Weinan Weinan () is a prefecture-level city in the east central Shaanxi province, China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provincial capital Xi'an, and borders the provinces of Shan ...

Tongchuan Tongchuan () is a prefecture-level city located in central Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China on the southern fringe of the Loess Plateau that defines the northern half of the province (Shanbei) and the northern reaches of the Guanzhon ...

Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an ...

Qingyang Qingyang () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Gansu province, China. Geography and climate Qingyang is the easternmost prefecture-level division of Gansu and is thus sometimes referred to as "Longdong" (). It forms an administrative penins ...

, and

Pingliang Pingliang () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Gansu province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the south and east and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to the north. The city was established in 376 AD. It has a residential population of 2, ...

. Xi'an Metro Line 14 between Beikezhan (Beiguangchang) station and the airport was opened on September 29, 2019. The line extended to Heshao on June 29, 2021.

Accidents and incidents

* On 6 June 1994,

Flight 2303 broke up in mid-air and crashed near Xi'an, en route to Guangzhou from Xi'an. A maintenance error was responsible. All 160 people on board died.

References

External links

Official website
* * {{authority control Airports in Shaanxi Buildings and structures in Xi'an Transport in Xi'an Airports established in 1991 1991 establishments in China Xianyang