Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport

Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is seated in the central section of Shuanxi Plain and is 16km southwest to the center of Chengdu City. Located at 30°34’47” N and 103°57’02’’E, it is an important aviation hinge and distribution center of passengers and cargo in the southwestern region.  It is stationed with over 20 civil aviation and port units, including Southwestern Civil Aviation Administration of China, China International Airlines Southwest Division, Sichuan Airlines, etc. The airport is connected with the urban district via expressway.

Founded in 1938, the airport was formerly named Shuangguisi Airport and possessed earth surface for small biplanes to take off and touch down. Expanded in 1944, it has a 1,400 m runway rolled with limes and pebbles and used for the airplane under 15 tons.

On 12th Dec. 1956, the Headquarters of the General Staff the Central Military Commission approved that Shuangguisi Airport was put under civil aviation. Then it was formally listed as 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 Beijing, Taiyuan, Xi An, Chongqing, Kunming, Guiyang, Nanchong, etc.

The airport was expanded for the first time from 1959 to 1960. The expanded airport had a 2200m runway which can be used for Yell 18 and the planes under 100 tons to take off and touch down. The newly built departure building covered an area of 8500 m2 and was incorporated with thin shell and arch structure. Its asymmetry form connected to high-level control building received praises from all parties. In 1967, the runway was extended to 2600m. The extended runway still can only be used to take off and touch down for the planes under 100 tons.

The airport was expanded for twice in 1983 and 1991 respectively. As a result, the area of the departure building was increased to 17,400 m2 and the facilities with oil storage/supply capacity over 10,000 tons were introduced. Compared with other southwest airports, Shungliu Airport possessed more advanced facilities involving navigation control, communication, weather forecast and transportation service.

Large-scale expansion was conducted on flight area and navigation area from 1994 to 2001. The total investment amounted to RMB2,800,000,000.00. The flight area reached Class 4E. The runway was extended to 3,600m and could be used to take off and touch down for various plane models, including Boeing 747-400. Moreover, the runway was incorporated with PCLS II. The newly built departure building covered an area of 82,000m2 and was incorporated with three-parallel-porch design. The passengers of departure and arrival were separated. The domestic passengers were also separated from foreign passengers. It accommodated an hourly capacity of 3,500 passengers at rush hours. The newly built park covered an area of 74,000 m2 and the station site lanes covered an area of 44,000m2.

The airport invested RMB3,800,000,000.00 to build the international departure building of 39,000 m2 in 2003 and it is estimated to be completed by 2004. People will find a modern airport with largest scale, sound facilities and complete functions in the west on the occasion.

In the 21st century, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport will strengthen its function and status as southwest hinge airport. It will receive guests from all over the world and will become the important southwest window facing the world, with more beautiful environment, more attentive service and more modernized facilities.

Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is an important southwest aviation hinge and distribution center of passengers and cargos. Established in Oct. 1987, it was approved as the international airport by the state in 1993 and was granted with ground visa right in 2000. At present, it is responsible for governing Nanchong Airport, Dazhou Airport and Xichang Airport in Sichuan Province. It is also the base airport of Southwest Division of China International Airline and Sichuan Airlines.

Its flight area is Class 4E. The main runway is 3,600m in length and 60m in width. The parking apron covers an area of 670,000 m2 and bears 71 plane locations of various types. PCILS II is mounted on the south end of the main runway. Two departure buildings cover an area of 100,000 m2 and possess a passenger-handling capacity of 12,000,000 person-times for the whole year. The departure building which start operation on Oct. 2001 is incorporated with three-parallel-porch design. The passengers of departure and arrival were separated. The domestic passengers were also separated from foreign passengers. It is also equipped with departure system and automatic building control system. The airport stated to built the international departure building of 39,000 m2 in 2003 and it is estimated to be completed at the end of 2004.

Over recent years, the airport is among the top six places in various production indexes. The passenger-handling capacity reached 8,190,000 person-times in 2003. Over 20 domestic and foreign airline companies opened more than 70 domestic courses, 6 international courses and more than 20 international charter flight courses. It also has the scheduled flights to Katmandu (Nepal) via Lhasa, to Paris (France) and Fukuoka (Japan) via Shanghai. There are over 270 sorties of departure and arrival each day.

The airport passed ISO9002:1994 and ISO9001:2000 in 1998 and 2002 respectively. It also received Certificate of Quality System Attestation of ISO9002:1994 and ISO9001:2000 issued by American National Standardization Certification Committee. At present, the airport has established the quality ensurence system matching the international standard in respect of security management, passenger service and scheduled flight guarantee. It has kept the record of zero safety misadventure for 16 years successively.

At present, the airport is carrying out the overall planning design on aviation materials flow and independent operation of two runways. These efforts will contribute to lay a solid foundation for the aim becoming one of the six major regional hinge airport in China.