Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

serving the city of

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

, the capital of

Northwest China Northwestern China () is a region in the People's Republic of China. It consists of five provincial administrative regions, namely Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid continental climate. ...

’s

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

province, as well as the whole

Guanzhong Guanzhong (, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben str ...

area. Covering an area of , Xi’an Airport has four terminals: T1, T2, T3, and T5. The total terminal building area exceeds 1.1 million square meters, making it one of the largest passenger airports in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, it is also the largest airport in

, and the second largest airport in

Northern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. Extent The Qinling, Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone ...

. The airport was the hub for China Northwest Airlines until the company was merged into

China Eastern Airlines China Eastern Airlines (branded as China Eastern) is a major airline in China, headquartered in Changning, Shanghai, Changning, Shanghai. It is one of the three major airlines in the country, along with Air China and China Southern Airlines. ...

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

Joy Air Joy Air () was a Chinese airline launched jointly by China Eastern Airlines and AVIC I on 29 March 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, ...

and

Hainan Airlines Hainan Airlines is an airline headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, China. It is the largest civilian-run enterprise, civilian-run and majority State ownership, state-owned air transport company, making it the fourth-largest airline in terms of flee ...

. Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is a

Skytrax Skytrax (originally known as Inflight Research Services) is a United Kingdom–based consultancy headquartered in London that runs an airline and airport review website. Services Skytrax conducts research for commercial airlines, as well as t ...

4-star airport. In 2024, the airport handled 47,039,000 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 ( zh, s=咸阳 , p=Xiányáng) 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 int ...

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. In 1984, the

State Council of China The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...

and the

Central Military Commission Central Military Commission may refer to: *Central Military Commission (China), the highest national defense organization in the People's Republic of China. *Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the highest body in Vietnam ...

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 Plc (, ) is the flag carrier and largest full-service legacy airline of Finland, with headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its airline hub, hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and international ...

's service to

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

was the first intercontinental route out of Xi'an, launching on 14 June 2013. However, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in China The COVID-19 pandemic in China is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). China was the first country to experience an outbreak of the di ...

and the closure of Russian airspace resulting from the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, the route has since been cancelled. The airport is presently engaged in a three-phase expansion initiative, anticipated for completion in 2025, which would feature four runways and four terminals, establishing it as a significant domestic and international aviation transit hub. On 20 February 2025, Terminal 5 officially opened to public and will commence operation.

, Shanghai Airlines and China United Airlines, as well as all international flights, will from the same day relocate to this new terminal.

Infrastructure

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 opened in 2003 and is located 700 meters left of Terminal 3. T2 mainly serves domestic flights within China.

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 (branded as China Southern) is a major airline in China, headquartered in Guangzhou, Guangdong. It is one of the three major airlines in the country, along with Air China and China Eastern Airlines. Established on 1 ...

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

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus until 2021. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the pr ...

Terminal 5 and new runways

Construction of Terminal 5 began in July 2021 and was completed in September 2024, featuring

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

inspired architecture, with a total construction cost of 46.9 billion yuan ($6.47 billion). Safety inspections were carried out afterwards and were passed on November 8. The terminal covers 705,500 square meters - larger than T1, T2 and T3 combined, and aims to accommodate 83 million passengers and 1 million tons of cargo by 2030. It features the world's first on-site airport museum, showcasing artifacts discovered in Shaanxi. Numerous new technologies have been incorporated into the terminal, including robotic security systems and China's most advanced baggage handling system. Two new runways were constructed alongside the terminal, and became operational on December 26, 2024. The airport now features 4 runways and 4 terminals.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

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 Baoji ( zh, s= , t= , p=Bǎojī; ) 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 ...

, Yangling, Lintong, Hancheng,

Hanzhong Hanzhong ( zh, s= , t= , l=middle of the Han River (Hubei), Han River; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in Southern Shaanxi, the southwest of Shaanxi, Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gans ...

Weinan Weinan ( zh, s=渭南 , p=Wèinán) is a prefecture-level city in east-Guanzhong, central Shaanxi, Shaanxi province, northwest China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provinc ...

, Tongchuan,

Yan'an Yan'an; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi Province of China, province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several c ...

, Qingyang, and

Pingliang Pingliang ( zh, s=平凉 , t=平涼 , p=Píngliàng , l="Pacify Liang") is a inner land 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. T ...

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

Accidents and incidents

* On 6 June 1994, China Northwest Airlines 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 Xianyang 1991 establishments in Xi'an