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Wuhan Tianhe International Airport

Coordinates: 30°47′01″N 114°12′29″E / 30.78361°N 114.20806°E / 30.78361; 114.20806
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"Wuhan Airport" redirects here. For the general aviation airport, see Hannan Municipal Airport.

Wuhan Tianhe
International Airport

武汉天河国际机场
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorWuhan Tianhe International Airport Co. Ltd.
ServesWuhan
LocationHuangpi District, Wuhan
Opened15 April 1995; 29 years ago (1995-04-15)
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL34 m / 112 ft
Coordinates30°47′01″N 114°12′29″E / 30.78361°N 114.20806°E / 30.78361; 114.20806
Websitewww.whairport.com/jc/ch/index.jhtml
Maps
CAAC airport chart
CAAC airport chart
WUH is located in Hubei
WUH
WUH
Location in Hubei
WUH is located in China
WUH
WUH
Location in China
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
04L/22R 3,400 11,155 Concrete
04R/22L 3,600 11,811 Concrete
Statistics (2021)
Passengers19,796,618
Cargo (in tons)315,998.2
Aircraft movements174,565
Wuhan Tianhe International Airport
Simplified Chinese武汉天河国际机场
Traditional Chinese武漢天河國際機場
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWǔhàn Tiānhé Guójì Jīchǎng

Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (IATA: WUH, ICAO: ZHHH) is an airport serving Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It was opened on 15 April 1995, replacing the old Hankou Wangjiadun Airport and Nanhu Airport as the major airport of Wuhan.[1][2] The airport is located in Wuhan's suburban Huangpi District, around 26 km (16 mi) to the north of Wuhan city center.

It is the busiest airport in central China as it is geographically located in the centre of China's airline route network. The airport served 20,772,000 passengers in 2016, making it the 14th busiest airport by passenger traffic in China. 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 New York City, San Francisco, Tokyo, Rome, Istanbul, Dubai, Sydney, Bali, Bangkok, Moscow, Osaka, Seoul, and Singapore. The name Tianhe (天河) can be literally translated as "Sky River"; Tianhe is also one of the names for the Milky Way in ancient Chinese.[3]

Since 2019, passengers from 53 countries such as the EU countries, Japan, South Korea, Russia, the U.S., when transiting to a third country, can enter China from this airport without a Chinese visa for up to 144 hours.[4][5]

On 23 January 2020, the airport was closed due to the 2020 Hubei lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, where the first outbreak happened in Wuhan.[6] The airport reopened on 8 April 2020 following a large-scale disinfection.[7]

History

Gates at Terminal 3

To replace the old Wangjiadun Airport and the larger, international Nanhu Airport, the Chinese government permitted plans to build a commercial airport in Tianhe Town, Huangpi District, Wuhan on 1 July 1985. The first term construction started in December 1989 and finished in April 1994. It initially operated domestic flights but later in 2000, the CAA re-designated it as an international airport.

Nanhu Airport was the main airport of Wuhan before 1995. Although built in 1936 as a military airport and 1951 as a civil airport, it was located near the city center, and by 1994, air traffic had climaxed and the airport was too small to handle larger amount of passengers. The first international flight from and to Wuhan only started on Halloween 1992, when Wuhan-Vientiane route was opened.

The airport was opened on 15 April 1995, and the old Nanhu Airport is closed in the same time. Any passengers still waiting at Nanhu Airport were immediately taken by bus to the new Tianhe Airport. Wangjiadun Airport still opened by that time, but mainly for military operations, then closed and demolished in 2007.

The airport has expanded twice – first for terminal 2 and second for terminal 3, new control tower and the second runway.

Wuhan opened up to intercontinental flights when Air France began service from Paris on 11 April 2012,[8] and two years later opened up to the United States non-stop when China Southern Airlines announced, in September 2014, a daily non-stop flight to San Francisco, originating from Guangzhou, operating with a Boeing 787 to begin 16 December 2014.[9]

Facilities

An Air China Airbus A330-300 at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport

Runways

Tianhe International Airport has two runways: Runway West (04L 22R) with a length of 3,400 m (11,200 ft) and width of 45 m (148 ft); and Runway East (04R 22L main runway)with a length of 3,600 m (11,800 ft) and width of 60 m (200 ft). Tianhe Airport is equipped with ILS II in the south side (main landing side) and ILS I on the north side. The East runway is equipped with blind landing systems.

Terminals

Terminal 1 (demolished)

Terminal 1 was opened in 1995 when all flight services were transferred from Nanhu Airport to Tianhe International Airport. It was located at where the west concourse of Terminal 3 stands nowadays. It had been the only terminal of the airport until Terminal 2 was completed in 2008.

From 2008 onwards, all domestic flights were operated at T2 while international flights were still operated at T1. T1 was closed 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. The terminal was demolished during the construction of Terminal 3.[10][11]

Terminal 2 (closed)

Terminal 2 was the main terminal for Tianhe Airport during 2008–2017, which handled 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 was completed on 15 April 2008, at a total cost of 3.37 billion yuan (421.5 million US dollars). By 2010, Wuhan served at least 5 international and 100 domestic routes. The airport's cargo-handling capacity is to reach 144,000 tons.

Terminal 2 was closed when Terminal 3 were officially opened in mid 2017 for the upgrade construction. [12]

International Terminal (closed)

The International Terminal was opened in December 2010 and all international flights and flights to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan operated at the International Terminal from 2010 to 2017. After the old Terminal 1 was closed in 2010, the International Terminal was sometimes mistakenly called "T1" by passengers.

The single-floor terminal is located at the southwest of Terminal 2. It has a floor area of 5310 square meters, shared by both departure and arrival facilities. To handle wide-body jet within limited ramp, there is no air-bridge for this terminal.[13]

Due to its compact size and the growing number of international flights, there were complaints that Terminal 1 was "too crowded". In 2013, the average departure traffic was 880 per hour during the peak season, which was far greater than its designed maximum capacity of 550.[14]

The International Terminal was closed in mid 2017 and it will be turned to a chartered and VIP terminal in the future.

Terminal 3

Multi-level view of Terminal 3
Terminal 3 departure concourse

Starting from 31 August 2017, all flights from the original International Terminal (international, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) and T2 (domestic) have been moved to Terminal 3, which has a passenger capacity of 35 million. Following the opening of the new Terminal 3, International Terminal (IT) and Terminal 2 (T2) were closed temporarily for renovation. IT is scheduled to operate as the VIP terminal. T2 will undergo renovation and reopen when passengers in T3 exceed the design limit.[15] The T3 has a new departure lounge, restaurants and duty-free shops.

The construction of Terminal 3 started in June 2013 and it was opened on 31 August 2017. A new runway, new control tower, and a transportation hub connecting the airport to the city with an intercity railway and a metro line have been built and opened along with the new terminal.[16]

Future development

According to the 2019–2025 development plan by Hubei Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the fourth terminal, a new satellite terminal and a third runway will be built.[17]

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 / 30.08806; 114.31444), 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.[18]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
9 Air Guangzhou, Tangshan, Zhangye
AirAsia Kota Kinabalu
Air China Baotou, Beijing–Capital, Changchun, Chengdu–Shuangliu, Chengdu–Tianfu, Daqing, Dazhou, Guangzhou, Guiyang, Haikou, Hohhot, Jieyang, Korla, Lanzhou, Linfen, Macau, Qingdao, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Ürümqi, Xiamen, Xi'an, Xilinhot, Zhanjiang, Zhuhai
All Nippon Airways Tokyo–Narita
Beijing Capital Airlines Changchun, Dalian, Enshi, Haikou, Jinan, Lijiang, Qingdao, Sanya, Shenyang
Cathay Pacific Hong Kong
Chengdu Airlines Beihai, Chengdu–Shuangliu, Fuzhou, Guiyang, Lhasa, Shenyang, Taizhou, Weihai
China Eastern Airlines Beihai, Beijing–Daxing, Chengdu–Tianfu, Chongqing, Dali, Dalian, Datong, Dongying, Dunhuang, Enshi, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Guiyang, Haikou, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Huai'an, Jiayuguan, Jieyang, Jinzhou, Kunming, Lanzhou, Liuzhou, Luzhou, Ningbo, Ordos, Panzhihua, Qingdao, Quanzhou, Rizhao, Sanya, Shanghai–Hongqiao, Shanghai–Pudong, Shennongjia, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Sydney, Taipei–Taoyuan,[19] Taiyuan, Taizhou, Tokyo–Narita, Ulanhot, Ürümqi, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xi'an, Xining, Yancheng, Yantai, Yibin, Yinchuan, Yiwu, Yuncheng, Yulin (Shaanxi), Zhangye, Zhanjiang, Zhoushan, Zunyi–Xinzhou
China Express Airlines Chongqing, Dalian, Hohhot, Yan'an
China Southern Airlines Arxan, Bangkok–Don Mueang, Beijing–Daxing, Bole, Changchun, Changzhi, Chengdu–Shuangliu, Chongqing, Dalian, Dubai–International, Enshi, Guangzhou, Guiyang, Guyuan, Haikou, Hailar, Hangzhou, Harbin, Ho Chi Minh City, Hohhot, Hong Kong, Huizhou, Islamabad, Jieyang, Kaohsiung, Kashgar, Kunming, Lanzhou, Lijiang, London–Heathrow,[20] Macau, Manzhouli, Moscow–Sheremetyevo, Nagoya–Centrair, Nanning, New York–JFK, Ningbo, Osaka–Kansai, Phuket, Qingdao, Rome–Fiumicino, San Francisco (resumes 4 November 2023),[21] Sanya, Seoul–Incheon, Shanghai–Pudong, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Shiyan, Taipei–Taoyuan, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Tokyo–Narita, Ürümqi, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xi'an, Xining, Xinzhou, Xishuangbanna, Yantai, Yining, Zhuhai
China United Airlines Wenzhou
Chongqing Airlines Chengdu–Tianfu, Chongqing, Huizhou, Nanning, Ningbo, Quanzhou, Taizhou, Xiamen, Yancheng, Zhuhai
Colorful Guizhou Airlines Bijie, Guiyang
Donghai Airlines Shenzhen
Hainan Airlines Beijing–Capital, Changchun, Haikou, Qingdao, Sanming, Sanya, Shenyang, Tongren, Ürümqi, Wenzhou, Zhuhai
Joy Air Huangshan, Xiangyang
Juneyao Air Dalian, Huizhou, Osaka–Kansai, Shanghai–Hongqiao, Shanghai–Pudong, Xishuangbanna
Korean Air Seoul–Incheon[22]
Kunming Airlines Kunming, Tengchong
Loong Air Changchun, Hangzhou, Wenzhou, Xining, Xishuangbanna, Yinchuan
Lucky Air Dali, Dalian, Kunming, Qingdao, Xishuangbanna
Okay Airways Kaili, Nanning, Yibin
Ruili Airlines Harbin, Kunming, Lanzhou, Mangshi, Shenyang
Scoot Singapore
Shandong Airlines Beijing–Capital, Guiyang, Jinan, Nanning, Qingdao, Xiamen, Yantai, Yinchuan
Shanghai Airlines Shanghai–Hongqiao, Wenzhou
Shenzhen Airlines Hohhot, Huizhou, Lanzhou, Nanning, Quanzhou, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Taiyuan, Yuncheng
Sichuan Airlines Chengdu–Shuangliu, Chengdu–Tianfu, Chongqing, Harbin, Nanning, Nantong, Quanzhou, Shennongjia, Xichang
Spring Airlines Shenzhen, Wuhai
Suparna Airlines Qingdao, Zhuhai
Thai AirAsia Bangkok–Don Mueang
Thai Lion Air Bangkok–Don Mueang
Tianjin Airlines Guiyang, Haikou, Hohhot, Huizhou, Jieyang, Lianyungang, Liupanshui, Sanya, Ürümqi, Xiamen, Xi'an, Zhanjiang
T'way Air Seoul–Incheon
Urumqi Air Ürümqi
West Air Chongqing, Fuzhou
XiamenAir Ankang, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Hohhot, Lanzhou, Liuzhou, Mianyang, Nanchong, Nanning, Quanzhou, Tianjin, Xiamen, Xining, Yinchuan, Zunyi–Maotai

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Aeroméxico Cargo Mexico City[23]
China Postal Airlines Nanjing
Emirates SkyCargo Dubai-Al Maktoum
Kalitta Air Anchorage, Chicago–O’Hare
SF Airlines Frankfurt,[24] Hangzhou, Hanoi,[25] Hong Kong,[26] Osaka–Kansai,[27] Shenzhen, Tokyo–Narita,[27] Zhengzhou
Yangtze River Express Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen
  • Check-in hall
    Check-in hall
  • Inside the airport
    Inside the airport
  • Inside view
    Inside view
  • Baggage claim area
    Baggage claim area
  • A China Eastern airplane approaching Terminal 2
    A China Eastern airplane approaching Terminal 2

Transportation

Roads

Two tolled expressways, the S18 Wuhan Airport Expressway and the S19 Wuhan Airport 2nd Expressway, connect the airport to downtown Hankou.[28]

Public transport

There is a limited bus service between Wuhan Tianhe Airport and several bus stops in the urban area of Wuhan.[29]

The Wuhan–Xiaogan intercity railway, one of the lines of the Wuhan Metropolitan Area intercity railway, serves Wuhan Tianhe Airport. This railway opened in December 2016.[30]

The extension of Line 2 of Wuhan Metro to Tianhe International Airport station opened on 28 December 2016.[31]

References

  1. ^ "1995年4月15日武汉天河机场投入营运". 荆楚网. 17 April 2008. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  2. ^ "中國空軍漢口機場歷經10年竣工". 大公網. 8 June 2007. Retrieved 11 February 2008. [permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ "Explanation of Tianhe". Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  4. ^ "2019年1月1日起武汉将实施外国人144小时过境免签". Hubei Daily. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  5. ^ "厦门青岛武汉成都昆明五个城市将实施外国人144小时过境免签政策". National Immigration Administration of China. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  6. ^ Fifield, Anna (22 January 2020). "City at center of coronavirus outbreak suspends travel to contain spreading illness". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Wuhan airport geared up for reopening on April 8". China Daily. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Air France launches new route to Wuhan in China". 18 April 2012.
  9. ^ "China Southern Plans San Francisco Service from mid-Dec 2014". Airline Route. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  10. ^ 天河机场 国际航站楼 下月扩建. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  11. ^ 武汉天河机场建成新国际航站楼. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  12. ^ "Xinhua - English". Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  13. ^ 武汉天河机场国际航站楼正式启用. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  14. ^ 旅客“吐槽”天河机场国际航站楼候机太拥挤. 武汉晚报 [Wuhan Evening News]. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  15. ^ "武汉天河机场三号航站楼成功转场启用". news.ifeng.com.
  16. ^ 网易. "天河机场三期全面建成 T3航站楼2017年3月启用_网易财经". money.163.com. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  17. ^ "重磅！天河机场要建T4航站楼，武汉13个区将有大变化！". 长江网 (in Chinese). Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  18. ^ 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
  19. ^ "China Eastern late-Sep 2023 Cross-Strait Network Resumptions". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Oversea web".
  21. ^ "China Southern NW23 US Operation Changes - 28SEP23". AeroRoutes. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  22. ^ "Korean Air Resumes Wuhan Service From Sept 2023". AeroRoutes. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  23. ^ "Aeroméxico inaugurates cargo route between Mexico and Wuhan, China" (in Spanish). May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  24. ^ "SF Airlines launches Wuhan-Frankfurt air cargo route - SHINE News". Shine.cn. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  25. ^ "SF Airlines launches Wuhan-Hanoi int'l cargo route". 31 March 2021.
  26. ^ "SF Airlines launches Wuhan-Hong Kong cargo route".
  27. ^ a b "SF Airlines launches Frankfurt freighter link". 9 November 2020.
  28. ^ 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)
  29. ^ 天河机场大巴运行时刻表 Archived 22 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine (Tianhe Airport bus schedule)
  30. ^ 方圆震. "武汉城市圈第4条城际铁路正式开通 空铁交通实现无缝对接_滚动新闻_中国政府网". gov.cn.
  31. ^ "武汉地铁机场线开通 乘地铁赶飞机还需留意这两点_荆楚网". news.cnhubei.com.
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