Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport
Encyclopedia
Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport is an airport serving Ürümqi
Ürümqi
Ürümqi , formerly Tihwa , is the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country....

, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. The airport is located in Diwopu, 16 km (10 mi) northwest of downtown Ürümqi. A hub for China Southern Airlines
China Southern Airlines
China Southern Airlines is an airline headquartered in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China. It is the world's sixth-largest airline measured by passengers carried, and Asia's largest airline in terms of both fleet size and passengers carried...

 and as a focus city
Focus city
In the airline industry, a focus city is a location that is not a hub, but from which the airline has non-stop flights to several destinations other than its hubs...

 for Hainan Airlines
Hainan Airlines
Hainan Airlines Company Limited is an airline headquartered in the HNA Development Building in Haikou, Hainan, People's Republic of China. It is the largest privately-owned air transport company and the fourth-largest airline in terms of fleet size in the People's Republic of China...

, the airport handled 9,148,329 passengers in 2010, making it the 18th busiest airport in China by passenger traffic.

History

Ürümqi Airport was opened to foreign passengers in 1973, and has been the emergency landing ground for airlines to Europe and west Asia.

Facilities

The airport covers an area of 4.84 million sq. metres. Its newly built runway is 3600 m (11,811 ft) in length. The airport can allow the landing of large aircraft such as the Boeing 747
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...

. The 110,000 sq. metre apron can accommodate over 30 aircraft.

Terminal 3

Construction of Terminal 3 to the west of the current terminal building began in April, 2007 at a cost of 2.8 billion yuan (350 million U.S. dollars). It will increase Diwopu's ability to handle more than three times its current (2007) 5.13 million passengers annually to 16.35 million passengers and also be able to handle 275,000 tons of cargo and 155,000 aircraft a year. Terminal 3 will also add an additional 21 jet bridges and nearly 106,000 square meters of new terminal space.

Usage

In 2002, 1,673,400 passengers and 35,000 tons of goods passed through Ürümqi Airport.

Summer 2005 saw Diwopu get a boost when the airport started receiving major foreign airlines; of them Korean Air
Korean Air
Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. , operating as Korean Air, is both the flag carrier and the largest airline of South Korea, with global headquarters located in Seoul, South Korea. Korean Air's international passenger division and related subsidiary cargo division together serve 130 cities in 45...

 was the first to start service from Seoul
Incheon International Airport
Incheon International Airport is the largest airport in South Korea, the primary airport serving the Seoul national capital area, and one of the largest and busiest airports in the world...

 seasonally in June; two months later, Pakistan International Airlines
Pakistan International Airlines
Pakistan International Airlines Corporation commonly known as PIA, is the flag carrier airline of Pakistan. The airline has its head office on the grounds of Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. and operates scheduled services to 24 domestic destinations and 38 international destinations in 27...

 began operations from Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...

 flying year round. PIA's online operation was subsequently changed to a codeshare operated by China Southern equipment (flights PK 1888/PK 1889).

Airlines and destinations

See also


External links




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