Chongqing - In 2023, out of over 260 transport airports in China, only 10 exceeded 40 million passengers. Chongqing excelled, catering to 44.657 million passengers and securing its position as the sixth busiest airport in the country.

Peak season sees 14 flights daily to highland cities

Last year, while domestic air travel saw a modest 1.5% increase compared to 2019, international travel only reached 37.5% of 2019 levels. This emphasizes the significance of domestic routes, highlighting Jiangbei International Airport's strength in this area.

The airport has expanded its network, especially with rapid connections to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, and has significantly increased passenger traffic between Chongqing, Fujian, and Shandong.

Additionally, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport has intensified flights to highland cities, with routes like Lhasa seeing up to 14 flights per day during peak season, one of the highest in domestic cities.

In 2023, Chongqing's airport indicators—passenger throughput, cargo and mail throughput, and aircraft movements—remain vital for reflecting the city's economic and social development amid a projected GDP exceeding 3.1 trillion yuan, marking a growth of over 6% compared to 2022.

This growth is attributed to national strategies like the Western development and the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, as well as opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative, said Jia Jingtai, Director of the Economic Space Planning Research and Application Laboratory at the Chongqing Municipal Economic Information Center.

Jiang believes these policies drive the rapid development of aviation-related industries such as business exhibitions, leisure tourism, and international trade. This influx of people, logistics, capital, and information to Chongqing creates a chain reaction, boosting the continuous growth of Jiangbei International Airport's passenger throughput.

Ready to welcome a crowd 2.6 times the city's population

Chongqing has implemented several policies to support this growth. For instance, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport Corporation, in collaboration with the municipal government and other departments, has developed a three-year plan for international route development, offering free support for non-aviation resources on international routes.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China released guidelines to accelerate the development of the Chengdu-Chongqing world-class airport cluster, aiming to establish its international hub function by 2025 and fully develop the cluster by 2035. This initiative aims to make it a global aviation technology innovation center, a top international education and training hub, and a modern industrial cluster, setting a precedent for China's aviation industry.

To achieve this, Jiangbei International Airport is accelerating the construction of the T3B terminal and the fourth runway. Upon completion, the airport is expected to handle 80 million passengers, 1.2 million tons of cargo, and 580,000 aircraft movements annually.

This implies that Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport will accommodate a flow of people over 2.6 times the city's current population, fostering the influx of capital, enterprises, and innovative concepts.

(Deng Yawen, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)