Prepared for Take Off: What’s Behind China’s Airport Boom?

Prepared for Take Off: What’s Behind China’s Airport Boom?
Feb 14, 2013 By Trey Archer , eChinacities.com

China is in the midst of one of the largest and most wide-scale building projects in human history. This construction frenzy is set to continue for years to come since the PRC recently announced the investment of tens of billions of dollars into infrastructural ventures like highways, railway tracks, subways, schools, hospitals, business centers, housing complexes and even airports. In regards to China’s airport boom specifically, one has to wonder why, apart from improving international trade and better interconnecting China with the rest of the world, is the country investing so much towards the renewal and/or creation of state-of-the-art hubs and spokes? If we compare China’s airports to other international ones and examine the PRC’s foreign policy agenda, we can understand why airports are becoming one of the country’s top priorities.


Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3. Photo:  crane-news.com

China’s best airports

According to China.org.cn, China’s top 10 airports (based on annual passenger traffic in 2011) are:

10. Chongqing Jiangbei International
9. Hangzhou Xiaoshan International
8. Xi’an Xianyang International
7. Kunming Wujiaba International (closed June 2012)
6. Chengdu Shuangliu International
5. Shenzhen Bao’an International
4. Shanghai Hongqiao International
3. Shanghai Pudong International
2. Guangzhou Baiyun International
1. Beijing Capital International

Chinese airports are generally massive, modern and equipped with technologically advanced machinery. At Shanghai Pudong, the Maglev Train—the first commercially operated magnetic levitation train on the planet—reaches speeds up to 431 km/h and connects passengers from the city center to the terminal in minutes. In Xi’an, there are futuristic sleeping capsules where dreary eyed passengers can catch a quick siesta during their layover. Beijing’s Terminal 3 is the second largest terminal in the world after Dubai International’s Terminal 3 and Shenzhen is currently ranked as the best “Cargo Airport.” Nonetheless, while these particular Chinese airports have a lot to boast about, others are lacking in certain areas. The “best” restaurant in Chengdu’s international terminal is Pizza Hut, while dining options in Shenzhen are not much better. Plus, apart from Beijing and Pudong, designer shopping plazas are extremely limited, while finding your way from one gate to another in Guangzhou can be torturous.

The world’s best airports

According to WorldAirportAwards.com, the top 10 international airports (based on customer surveys in 2012) are:

10. Chubu Centrair International (Nagoya, Japan)
9. Vancouver International (Canada)
8. Kuala Lampur International (Malaysia)
7. Zurich Airport (Switzerland)
6. Munich Airport (Germany)
5. Beijing Capital International (China)
4. Amsterdam Schiphol (Holland)
3. Hong Kong International (Hong Kong)
2. Singapore Changi (Singapore)
1. Incheon International (Seoul, South Korea)

Having been to most of the airports on this list, I can personally say that they are truly architectural marvels packed with top of the line luxury name brand shops, have quality restaurants with an international selection and are engineered for passenger comfort and convenience. Amsterdam Schiphol in my opinion has the best food selection out of any airport I’ve visited. Hong Kong International is home to the Reagal Airport Hotel, which was ranked best airport hotel in the world. Chubu Centrair was built on an artificially man-made island. Singapore, Hong Kong and Incheon were also all ranked in the top five for shopping. So while the Chinese airports listed above are all impressive from a domestic point of view, the majority is still (jet) lagging behind the planet’s elite.

China’s airport boom

Although all of China’s top 10 airports rank within the world’s top 100 list, only three are ranked within the top 50. This statistic may seem acceptable especially for a developing country, but it’s apparently not good enough for the ever-aspiring Chinese Communist Party. In a country with ambitious goals and where saving face is everything, airports play a major role in China’s image. For starters, first impressions are everything and airports are the first thing visitors and businessmen see upon arrival. Second, for those who haven’t been to China and are just merely passing through on a layover, it’s the only glimpse of the country they’ll see. Third, it shows the world that China is a modern, developed nation with “first world” amenities. Lastly, they help the country cope with an increase in air traffic; something that’s vitally important to the country’s development since traffic is expected to climb 8.2% by 2030 and passenger throughput at Beijing Capital reached 78 million last year (the busiest airport is currently Atlanta International, with 80 million passengers annually).

With the majority of China’s top ten hubs still behind the world’s best, the government has taken steps to catch up. Recently, Chengdu opened a brand new shiny Terminal 2, Shanghai’s Hongqiao received a major facelift and Chongqing’s Jiangbei was placed 3rd in the world’s “most improved” category. Hangzhou is currently building a new terminal and two new runways to increase its total to five (tied with the most in the country) while Kunming recently closed its Wujiaba International Airport (originally built in 1923), replacing it with the brand new Changshui International Airport, open since June 28, 2012. And if that wasn’t enough, Beijing Capital, which is already amongst the best and busiest in the world, will soon be eclipsed by a new mammoth complex set to open in 2018.

Beijing Daxing International (its proposed name since its official name hasn’t been released yet) wedged between Tianjin and Beijing has some unbelievable plans etched in its blueprints. It will have nine runways to trump Denver which currently has the most with six, become the world’s largest cargo air-transit hub by handling 5.5 million tons of cargo per year, and host 130 million passengers per year to make it the Earth’s largest and busiest airport by a long shot. There will also be a high-speed railway connecting the airport to Beijing South Railway Station in less than 30 minutes along with first-class shopping, restaurants and entertainment venues for travelers. In the end, Beijing’s new mega-port will cost more than 11 billion USD, slightly less than the entire GDP of Cambodia.

Flight into the future

Chinese airports are going through a major transformation with renovations and new construction projects. While some of these extravagant structures may simply be for “face,” there’s no doubt that China will have to upgrade its aviation hub for an increase in traffic and cargo shipments in the upcoming decades. Furthermore, while the rest of the world’s airline industries are going bankrupt left and right, China may very well help lead the aviation industry’s recovery by buying 3,770 new planes (costing 400 billion USD over the next two decades) coupled with a jump in Chinese frequent flyers. In the end, it most certainly seems plausible that the future global traveler might find him or herself on more layovers in a Chinese airport instead of Dubai, Europe or North America.

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1 Comments

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optical5

Pudong is easily one of the worst airports I have ever seen and that includes numerous destinations across the globe. There are only hard, cold metal benches to sit on, absolutely no recognizable food brands i.e. KFC (The only "restaurants" they do have are massively overpriced in the order of 1000% and are simply disgusting), and no shopping whatsoever besides useless trinkets and overpriced Mandarin learning software. Something needs to be done. I want Shanghai to have an airport that is representative of the city and how great it is, not a depressing uncomfortable hell hole like it is now.

Feb 15, 2013 15:22 Report Abuse