Changbaishan Airport Opens Before Olympics

The Changbaishan Airport a regional airport in China has opened in time for the 2008 Olympic Games.

The airport is located in the Chixi area of the Changbaishan Protection and Development Area, Jilin. It has a 4C level flight area with a 2,600 meter-long 45 meter-wide runway, and a 8,690-square-meter terminal building that can handle aircraft such as Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s taking off and landing. The airport is expected to handle 9,407 aircraft carrying 540,000 passengers and 1,080 tons of cargo a year by 2015.

For the initial phase of operation, the Jilin Branch of China Southern Airlines has opened the Changchun-Changbaishan and Beijing-Changbaishan routes with seven flights a week on each route. In addition, Jilin has negotiated with Air China and China Eastern Airlines to launch several additional routes from Changbaishan to Shenyang, Dalian, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou.

According to local media, the number of tourists visiting the Changbaishan scenic area increased by 25% annually, and in 2007 reached a total of 950,000.