China’s mega airport, over 700,000 sq metres large, is now open

China’s long-awaited Chengdu Tianfu International Airport is officially open. Its inaugural flight, operated by Sichuan Airlines, took off to Beijing on Sunday. The construction of the airport cost around $10.8 billion. The hub has the capacity to operate 60 million passengers per year. Chengdu also became the third city in China to have two international airports, after Shanghai and Beijing.

The mega airport operates with two terminals and three runways, that cover 710,000 square meters. According to the media outlet Xinhua, the airport will accommodate terminals covering up to 1.4 million square meters in the future, capable of functioning with 120 million passengers per year.

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Apart from pandas, Sichuan is also known for its spicy food and beautiful scenery, making it one of the country’s most famous tourist destinations among both foreign and domestic tourists. However, the airport is open only for domestic travellers, for now, reported CNN.

“The new airport in Chengdu was needed to accommodate continued rapid growth”, said Brendan Sobie, an aviation analyst. “China’s domestic market has already fully recovered from the pandemic and will continue to grow rapidly. Given the size of the city and its central location in China, Chengdu is very well-positioned to benefit”.

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Recent statistics from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) suggested that China’s domestic traffic had increased by 6.8% in April 2021, compared to April 2019. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the old Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport was the fourth largest airport in China by passenger volume. Last year, “it was actually the second largest as it was less impacted by the pandemic than other major airports due to its high reliance on the domestic market”, said Sobie, reported CNN.