Highlights of Chengdu Tianfu International Airport

Aerial photo shows Chengdu Tianfu International Airport in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan province. (Photo courtesy of Chengdu Tianfu International Airport)

After five years of construction, Chengdu Tianfu International Airport in southwest China’s Sichuan province, has gone into operation with a Sichuan Airlines flight bound for Beijing taking off on June 27. This makes Chengdu the third city in the Chinese mainland to have two major international airports after Shanghai and Beijing.

Located some 50 km from downtown Chengdu, the airport is the largest civil transport airport built during China's 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020).

The following are highlights of the construction and operation of the new airport.

The new facility’s first-phase project has three runways and two terminals totaling 710,000 square meters and built in the shape of the mythical Sunbird, the logo for Chengdu, giving it a capacity of 60 million passengers a year and a cargo volume of 1.3 million tons.

It also has a ground transfer center connecting the two terminal buildings, making it the first airport with such a structure in China.

The comprehensive transportation network integrates subways, highways, and high-speed railways with the airport as the center. “We built a transportation center between the two terminals to provide nine alternative transportation methods such as subways, trains, taxis, and buses,” said Zhang Honggang, deputy general manager of Sichuan Province Airport Group Co., Ltd., the airport’s operator.

Two of them are an expressway linking downtown Chengdu to the airport, and Chengdu Metro Line 18, which connects Chengdu South Railway Station.

The two terminals are also connected by an automated people mover system, making it more convenient for passengers to commute between them.

The airport has also realized a paperless self-service airport experience during the whole process from check-in, self baggage check-in and security checks to boarding.

The airport has 63 channels of security checks for passengers, including 58 channels with self-service security facilities, which account for over 92 percent of the total.

Passengers can also check in their baggage from their hotels and board their flights using facial recognition.

The airport also has an airlines operation center covering an area of 870 square meters. By applying advanced technologies such as 5G, facial recognition, Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing, the center will be able to carry out accurate control of flight operations, passenger services, and emergencies. The center has shared data with airlines and the aviation authority.

Meanwhile, the airport also features 12 beautiful courtyards with the themes of rich cultural heritage and picturesque landscapes of Sichuan.

The opening of the airport could help Chengdu become an integrated international transport hub linking China with Europe and Southeast Asia, according to Zhang Honggang.