Yunnan builds up efficient aviation network

The Kunming Wujiaba Airport came into being in 1922, marking the birth of the second airport in China.

In 2012, the Kunming airport was moved out of the city to a new venue and renamed Changshui International Airport, breaking the “infrastructural bottleneck” that had long restricted the development of Yunnan’s air service.

Starting in 2015, the airports of Lugu, Cangyuan and Lancang in Yunnan have opened to traffic in succession yearly.

Up to now, the province has built up 15 airports, ranking third nationwide. And an airport network was initially formed with airports in Kunming, Lijiang and Xishuangbanna being the backbones.

Airport density in Yunnan reached 0.38/10,000 square kilometers, well above the national average of 0.24/10,000 square kilometers. Each of the 7 airports in Kunming, Lijiang, Xishuangbanna, Mangshi, Dali and Tengchong has an annual passenger throughput of over one million.

In total, the province has opened 524 air routes, including 441 domestic ones, 78 international ones and 5 regional routes. Now Yunnan airlines have covered the national capitals in South Asia and Southeast Asian. Among the Chinese airports, Kunming Airport has the most presence in south and southeast Asia.

In October 2018, Yunnan Airport Group launched the Kunming-Dubai cargo route, extending the province's air service from south and southeast Asia to the Middle East. Yunnan produces can directly reach 6 destinations in South Asia by air.

The 15 Yunnan airports saw 501,800 take-offs and landings in 2018, with a passenger throughput of 627.9 million and a cargo throughput of 463,300 tons. Compared with data in 2013, the figures represent increases of 40.78%, 56.96% and 47.22% respectively.

Reporting by Hu Xiaorong (Yunnan Daily); trans-editing by Wang Shixue