Wuhan Tianhe International Airport

Wuhan Tianhe
International Airport
武汉天河国际机场
Wǔhàn Tiānhé Guójì Jīchǎng
IATA: WUH – ICAO: ZHHH
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Wuhan Tianhe International Airport Co. Ltd.
Serves Wuhan
Location Huangpi District
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL 34 m / 112 ft
Coordinates 30°47′01″N 114°12′29″E / 30.78361°N 114.20806°ECoordinates: 30°47′01″N 114°12′29″E / 30.78361°N 114.20806°E
Website whairport.com (Chinese)
Map
WUH

Location in Hubei

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
04/22 3,400 11,155 Concrete
Statistics (2013)
Passengers 15,653,031
Source: China's busiest airports by passenger traffic
Wuhan Tianhe International Airport
Traditional Chinese 武漢天河國際機場
Simplified Chinese 武汉天河国际机场

Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (IATA: WUH, ICAO: ZHHH) serves Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei province, People's Republic of China. It was opened on 15 April 1995, substituting the old Hankou Airport and Nanhu Airport as the major airport of Wuhan.[1][2] The airport is located in Wuhan's suburban Huangpi District, around 26 kilometres to the north of Wuhan city center. It is the busiest airport of central China as it is geographically located in the centre of China's airline route network. The airport is a focus city for Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines. The airport has flights to international destinations such as Bangkok, Moscow, Osaka, Paris, Seoul, and Singapore. In September 2014 China Southern Airlines announced a daily non-stop flight to San Francisco from Guangzhou operating with a Boeing 787 to begin December 16, 2014. This is Wuhan's first non-stop flight to the United States.[3]

The airport served 11,646,789 passengers in 2010, making it the 14th busiest airport by passenger traffic in China.

The name Tianhe (天河) can be literally translated as "Sky River"; it is also one of the old names for the Milky Way.[4]

Starting from May 1, 2015, passengers from countries such as EU countries, Japan, Korea, Russia, the U.S., when traveling to a third country, can enter China from this airport without a Chinese visa for up to 72 hours.[5]

Terminals

Map of the terminals

Terminal 2 is currently the main terminal for Tianhe Airport, which handles only domestic airlines. It has a floor area of 121,200 square meters and a designed capacity to handle 13 million passengers and 320,000 tons of cargo a year. The project is completed in April 15, 2008, with a total cost of 3.37 billion yuan (421.5 million US dollars). By 2010, Wuhan is expected to serve at least five international and 100 domestic routes. Some 12.2 million passengers are expected to pass through Wuhan each year, and the city's cargo-handling capacity is to reach 144,000 tons.[6]

The old terminal 1 was discontinued in 2010 after serving international flights for two years. A new international terminal was built in 2010, and has undergone subsequent expansions after seeing major increase of international travelers.[7][8]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines Destinations Terminal
Air China Beijing-Capital, Changchun, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Haikou, Hailar, Hangzhou, Hohhot, Qingdao, Sanya, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Yantai 2
Air China Chiang Mai, Macau, Surat Thani[9] International
Air France Paris-Charles de Gaulle International
Beijing Capital Airlines Dalian, Enshi, Haikou, Hohhot, Sanya 2
Business Air Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi International
Chengdu Airlines Chengdu, Taizhou 2
China Airlines Taipei-Taoyuan International
China Eastern Airlines Anqing, Beijing-Capital, Changbaishan, Changchun, Chengdu, Dalian, Ganzhou, Guangzhou, Guiyang, Enshi, Haikou, Hangzhou, Huai'an, Jieyang, Kunming, Lanzhou, Lianyungang, Nanchang, Ningbo, Qingdao, Sanya, Shanghai-Hongqiao, Shanghai-Pudong, Shennongjia, , ShenyangShenzhen, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Urumqi, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xi'an, Xishuangbanna, Xiangyang, Yancheng, Yinchuan, Yuncheng, Zunyi, Zhanjiang 2
China Eastern Airlines Fukuoka, Kaohsiung, Kuala Lumpur, Shizuoka, Singapore, Taipei-Taoyuan International
China Southern Airlines Beijing-Capital, Changchun, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Enshi, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Guilin, Guiyang, Haikou, Hangzhou, Harbin, Jieyang, Jinan, Kunming, Liuzhou, Nanning, Ningbo, Qingdao, Sanya, Shanghai-Pudong, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Urumqi, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xi'an, Zhuhai 2
China Southern Airlines Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jeju,[10] Kaohsiung, Macau,[11] Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Nagoya-Centrair (begins 17 May 2015),[12] San Francisco, Shizuoka (begins 15 May 2015),[13] Seoul-Incheon, Taipei-Taoyuan International
China Southern Airlines
operated by Chongqing Airlines 		Chongqing, Hangzhou 2
Dragonair Hong Kong International
Dynamic Airways Charter: Saipan[14] International
Eastar Jet Charter : Jeju International
Far Eastern Air Transport Kaohsiung International
Hainan Airlines Beijing-Capital, Guiyang, Haikou, Hangzhou, Hohhot, Lanzhou, Qingdao, Sanya, Urumqi, Wenzhou, Xi'an 2
Jeju Air Jeju International
Joy Air Xi'an, Xiangyang 2
Juneyao Airlines Shanghai-Pudong 2
Korean Air Seoul-Incheon International
Kunming Airlines Jinan, Kunming, Qingdao, Yangzhou 2
Loong Air Hangzhou, Xining 2
Lucky Air Dalian, Kunming, Nanjing, Qingdao 2
Maldivian Bangkok-Don Mueang, Male[15] International
Shandong Airlines Guiyang, Jinan, Nanning, Qingdao, Xiamen, Yantai, Yinchuan, Zhuhai 2
Shanghai Airlines Shanghai-Hongqiao 2
Shenzhen Airlines Changchun, Guangzhou, Hohhot, Kunming, Nanning, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Wuxi, Xining 2
Sichuan Airlines Chengdu, Chongqing, Harbin, Nanning, Nantong, Quanzhou 2
Silk Air Singapore International
Spring Airlines Osaka-Kansai[16] International
Thai AirAsia Bangkok-Don Mueang International
Tianjin Airlines Beihai, Guiyang, Haikou, Jieyang, Jinan, Nanning, Ordos, Sanya, Tianjin, Xi'an 2
TransAsia Airways Hualien, Taipei-Songshan International
West Air Chongqing, Fuzhou, Wenzhou 2
Xiamen Airlines Chengdu, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Jinan, Kunming, Lanzhou, Quanzhou, Tianjin, Urumqi, Xiamen, Xi'an, Yinchuan 2

Cargo

Airlines Destinations
Uni-Top AirlinesChennai, Delhi, Luxembourg, Tokyo-Narita[17]

Gallery

Ground transportation

Two tolled expressways, the 1st (numbered S18) and the 2nd (S19) Airport Expressways, connect the airport to downtown Hankou.[18]

There is a limited bus service between Wuhan Tianhe Airport and several bus stops in Hankou.[19]

The future Wuhan–Xiaogan Intercity Railway, one of the lines of the Wuhan Metropolitan Area Intercity Railway, will serve Wuhan Tianhe Airport. The rail line is expected to open in 2015.[20]

Plans also exist to eventually extend Line 2 of Wuhan Metro to Tianhe Airport. The estimated completion date for this project is also in 2015.[21]

Future development

Terminal 3 is under construction and will be completed with a new runway, an intercity railway, and a subway stations in 2016.[22]

Presently, Tianhe is the only civic airport in the Wuhan metropolitan area. However, the city authorities are considering repurposing the military Shanpo Airfield (山坡机场; 30°05′17″N 114°18′52″E / 30.08806°N 114.31444°E), located in the city's far southern suburbs (Shanpo Township, Jiangxia District), as a commercial cargo airport. If the plans are implemented, Shanpo will become Wuhan's second airport.[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "1995年4月15日武汉天河机场投入营运". 荆楚网. 2008-04-17. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
  2. ↑ "中國空軍漢口機場歷經10年竣工". 大公網. 2007-06-08. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
  3. ↑ "China Southern Plans San Francisco Service from mid-Dec 2014". Airline Route. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "Explanation of Tianhe". Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  5. ↑ 武汉3月起实行72小时过境免签
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ "天河机场 国际航站楼 下月扩建". Retrieved 2012-02-03.
  8. ↑ "武汉天河机场建成新国际航站楼". Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  9. ↑ http://airlineroute.net/2015/04/22/ca-wuhurt-s15/
  10. ↑ "月底武汉可直飞济州岛". 5 June 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  11. ↑ "China Southern Adds Wuhan - Macau Service from April 2015". Airline Route. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  12. ↑ http://airlineroute.net/2015/04/13/cz-wuh-may15/
  13. ↑ http://airlineroute.net/2015/04/13/cz-wuh-may15/
  14. ↑ "Charter flights from 3 cities in China to start this month". Saipan Tribune. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  15. ↑ "Maldivian Plans to Start Wuhan Service from June 2014". Airline Route. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  16. ↑ http://airlineroute.net/2014/05/21/9c-wuhkix-jul14/
  17. ↑ Uni-Top launch service with Indian routes
  18. ↑ 武汉机场二通道继续免费 15分钟从香港路开到机场 (Second Airport Expressway is now open and remains free for the time being)
  19. ↑ 天河机场大巴运行时刻表 (Tianhe Airport bus schedule)
  20. ↑ 武汉至咸宁城际铁路本月28日将正式开通运营 (The Wuhan-Xianning Intercity Railway will officially open on the 28th of this month), 人民网, 24 December 2013
  21. ↑ 武汉天河机场将无缝对接铁公空 2015年坐地铁赶飞机 (Wuhan Tianhe Airport to have seamless railway-public transport-air connection. In 2015, take metro to the plane), 荆楚网, 24 April 2013
  22. ↑ 武汉天河机场明年初T3航站楼“冲出地面”
  23. ↑ 武汉第二机场项目已上报发改委 江夏山坡机场开始“控违” (The plan for Wuhan's second airport has been submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission. Shanpo Airfield, in Jiangxia District, started to be considered), 21 November 2012

External links

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