Sansha Yongxing Airport
Yongxing Island Airport 永兴岛机场 Yǒngxīng Dǎo Jīchǎng | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
| Operator | People's Liberation Army Air Force | ||||||||||
| Serves | Sansha, Hainan | ||||||||||
| Location | Yongxing Island | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 16°49′58″N 112°20′40″E / 16.83278°N 112.34444°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  ZJYX Location of airport in the South China Sea | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Yongxing Island Airport (Chinese: 永兴岛机场) or Woody Island Airport (ICAO: ZJYX) is a military airport located on Yongxing (Woody) Island, the largest of the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.[1] Yongxing Island is administered by China as part of Sansha city of Hainan Province. The airport was completed in July 1990 to expand the combat range of Chinese warplanes.[3]
There is a decision to launch scheduled civilian flights between the China mainland and the Yongxing Island before the end of 2016.[4]
Facilities
Yongxing Island Airport has a 2,700-metre (8,900 ft) runway[1] that is capable of handling any fourth generation combat aircraft of the Chinese Naval airforce such as the Chengdu J-10AH, Shenyang J-11BH, Xian JH-7A, and the Sukhoi Su-30MK2. The airport can handle airliners like a Boeing 737, but there is no scheduled airline service to the airport. The runway is paved concrete and unmarked. The Yongxing Island Airport was completed in July 1990,[5]
The airport also has four hangars, a radar navigation station and four large fuel tanks, enabling it to serve as a forward deployment base for refueling warplanes on combat missions.[6]
See also
- Taiping Island Airport
- Dongsha Island Airport
- Layang-Layang Airport
- List of airports in China
- List of People's Liberation Army Air Force airbases
References
- ^ a b c 专家建议造浮岛机场让战机作战半径覆盖南海 (in Chinese). Eastday. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
- ^ Airport information for ZJYX at Great Circle Mapper.
- ^ Bernstein, Richard; Munro, Ross H. (1998). The Coming Conflict with China. Vintage Books. p. 74. ISBN 978-0679776628.
- ^ China's southernmost city to launch civilian flights
- ^ Bernstein, Richard; Munro, Ross H. (1998). The Coming Conflict with China. Vintage Books. p. 74. ISBN 978-0679776628.
- ^ Chang, Andrei (26 September 2008). "Analysis: China's air-sea buildup". Spacewar.com. Retrieved 11 July 2012.