Southwest China’s First Off-Airport International Check-In Terminal Opens at Raffles City Chongqing

Chongqing - Southwest China's first self-service check-in terminal for international flights located outside an airport has officially begun operations at the Raffles City urban air terminal of Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport. This marks the first time in Southwest China that international flight check-in services have been extended to a core urban commercial district, further expanding the airport's international service reach from the terminal to the front line of tourists' dining, accommodation, travel, shopping and entertainment.

Inside the Raffles City urban air terminal, red international self-service check-in kiosks operate alongside domestic check-in equipment. Passengers can select a language, enter booking information, scan their passports, choose seats and print boarding passes within minutes. In its initial phase, the terminal connects to AirAsia's departure control system, covering popular Southeast Asian routes from Chongqing to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and other destinations. During the National Day Golden Week, the Raffles City urban air terminal received more than 30,000 domestic and international passengers and provided check-in, baggage drop-off and transport-connection services to nearly 5,000 travelers.

The addition of international services at the urban air terminal is an important measure by Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport to implement China's 240-hour visa-free transit policy and improve service quality for inbound and outbound travelers. It also represents a proactive innovation in promoting the integrated development of aviation and tourism toward urban commercial districts. Previously, international check-in and baggage drop-off functions were fixed inside airport terminals, requiring passengers to "enter the airport first and complete procedures second." With the new terminal in operation, international aviation services are directly embedded into Chongqing's urban tourism and cultural consumption belt, moving port-of-entry functions from inside the terminal to the streets and helping transform Chongqing's image among inbound tourists from a "transit point" to a "destination."

Since the beginning of this year, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport has opened new passenger routes to Manila, Sabah, Chiang Mai, Almaty and other destinations, and increased frequencies on routes to Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Vientiane and other cities. It currently operates 41 international (regional) passenger routes with 266 flights per week. From January to September, the airport handled 2.227 million international (regional) passengers, up 33.9 percent year on year.

Next, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport will continue to encourage more airlines to join the urban air terminal service network, build a multi-point international check-in service system linking the city center, airport and high-speed railway stations, further densify its international route network, improve travel service support, accelerate the building of a location-gateway composite international aviation hub, and contribute aviation strength to Chongqing's efforts to become a world-renowned tourist destination and an international consumption center city.