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January 27, 2014

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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Booming airport soars in passengers, destinations

By Feng Jianmin | January 27, 2014, Monday | Print Edition

With Spring Festival approaching, Xiaoshan International Airport has turned even more bustling than usual, sending passengers all over China for family reunions and all around the world for holiday vacations.

On January 16, the first day of the Spring Festival travel season when people head for their hometowns for family unions, the airport handled 63,000 passengers on 565 flights.

For the whole Spring Festival travel season, the airport is expected to have 21,500 flights landing to and taking off from the airport, up 12 percent from last year.

This is but one indication that the airport has grown along with the flourishing economy in the city.

Another is that Hangzhou residents are going to be able to fly to more destinations from Xiaoshan International Airport as airlines play up the cityÕs importance and airport authorities pledge to establish more connections.

The airport is working on opening direct passenger flights to Los Angeles, Paris, Moscow, St Petersburg and popular tourist destinations such as the Maldives, according to Chen Zhuyi, deputy general manager of Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport Co Ltd.

It aims to improve its southeast Asian network while extending service to more cities in Europe and the North America in the next a few years, Chen said.

ÒWe will continue to improve the infrastructure,Ó Chen said. ÒWe will focus on opening new destinations.Ó

In November, Xiaoshan International Airport welcomed the 20 millionth passenger of the year, making it the 10th airport in China that handles more than 20 million passengers annually.

Hangzhou is emerging as a regional hub with its own significance.

The total annual passenger traffic is expected to exceed 22 million last year, according to Shen Jian, chairman of Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport Co Ltd.

“Our aim is to build a big and strong air business in Hangzhou,” Shen said. “We will enhance the radiation of the airport, and strengthen its long-distance connections.”

Every day, more than 500 flights operated by some 50 airlines take 60,000 travelers from the Hangzhou to all over the world.

Among all passengers last year, more than 2.85 million international air travelers used the airport, a year-on-year increase of 14 percent, the Hangzhou Border Inspection Station said.

It is handling 43 international routes, with 360 inbound and outbound flights per week.

The airport, now the busiest in Zhejiang Province, operates more than 160 passenger flight routes with direct connection to 108 domestic and international cities.

Domestically, the airport has covered all provincial capitals. Internationally, the city already has freight and passenger connections with popular destinations such as Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, Amsterdam, Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Los Angeles.

Last week, China Postal Airlines started a freight route connecting Hangzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou to facilitate e-commerce business between Zhejiang Province and hub cities. Delivery time will be shortened by half a day for goods sent from Zhejiang Province to the two destinations.

“Domestically, we need to have more destinations so as to compete with high speed railways, and expand the international network to meet strong consumer demand,” Chen said. “We will work with the foreign side closely in expanding.”

For Chen and for foreign airlines, the economic activities and consumption power of Hangzhou will generate momentum strong enough to sustain the growth of the airport.

Qatar Airways is the latest to start a new direct service. It opened a route from Doha, Qatar’s capital, to Hangzhou last month, which is also the airport’s first direct passenger route with a Middle Eastern city. On December 20, the first flight from Doha landed at the airport, opening the city to more than 100 destinations that have direct connection with the Middle Eastern hub.

Shen said the launch of the connection marks a breakthrough for the airport that improves network connections.

“Zhejiang Province is the hometown for many overseas Chinese, and it has an upbeat economic and cultural prospect,” Shen said. “The active trade and business relations between Hangzhou and the Middle Eastern markets breed strong demands for travel.”

It is Qatar Airways’ seventh air route to China besides Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Chongqing and Chengdu, said Akbar Al Baker, chief executive officer of the carrier, who arrived in Hangzhou on the maiden flight.

The airline will operate four weekly round-trip flights with the Airbus A330.

“Hangzhou is located close to Shanghai, but it has become an industrial center itself,” said Al Baker. “We see Hangzhou as a city of equal importance to Shanghai.”

He said Hangzhou will be the airline’s first choice in China to use the Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger airplane. Qatar Airways is expected to operate daily flights between Hangzhou and Doha when it is granted approval by China’s aviation authorities, according to Al Baker.

 

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