Chengdu Tianfu International Airport was officially put into operation on June 27. Chengdu has become the third city in the Chinese mainland to have two international hub airports after Shanghai and Beijing.

A Sichuan Airlines 3U8001 plane soared into the sky at about 11 am on June 27, marking the official opening of Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, the largest civil transport hub planned for construction during the 13th Five-Year Plan period.

A thousand years of flying dreams

Sichuan used to be the epitome of the traffic difficulties in western China, Shu Road is difficult "Yellow Crane flying can not pass, apes 猱 want to climb sorrow". The gold foil of the sun divine bird unearthed from Jinsha Site in Chengdu shows the dream of ancient Shu ancestors eager to fly. This inspired the shape design of Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, which like a winged bird, set sail on the shore of Chengdu Sancha Lake.

In this period, Chengdu Tianfu International Airport has built a 710,000 square meter terminal building with "two vertical and one horizontal" three runways, which can meet the annual passenger handling capacity of 60 million person-times and cargo handling capacity of 1.3 million tons. The long-term plan will meet the annual passenger throughput of 120 million person-times, cargo throughput of 2.8 million tons of demand.

This is the epitome of the continuous opening up of western China. Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, the transportation construction in western China has been changing with each passing day. In 2020, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport will handle 310,000 flights and 40.74 million passenger trips, ranking the second in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan).

In 2020, when the global epidemic is raging, Chengdu still maintains 10 international all-cargo air routes such as Chicago, Frankfurt, Brussels and Tokyo, covering major hub cities in North America, Europe, Oceania, Africa and Asia. In May 2020, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport ranked first in the number of flights taken off and landed in the world, becoming the busiest airport in the world that month.

Faced with the huge demand, Sichuan Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Co., Ltd. actively explores aircraft support technology. "Now we can do an 8C inspection, similar to car maintenance, for airplanes within one month," said Shuai Zhiyong, general manager. "Airlines no longer need to fly overseas. In the future, we will provide high quality aviation maintenance support to 'One Belt And One Road' countries."

"Chengdu, as an inland city without borders or sea, aviation is the main way to directly participate in the global industrial division of labor. In recent years, air transport accounts for more than 70% of Chengdu's total import and export trade." "The opening of the new airport will further boost Chengdu's efforts to build itself into an international hub city," said Yin Chaoyin, deputy director of the administration committee of Chengdu East New District, where Tianfu International Airport is located.

Three-dimensional transportation will be opened to all areas

Not long ago, the airspace structure in western China was adjusted to connect the Shanghai-Chengdu corridor, forming a 3,000-km east-west one-way parallel air corridor connecting airports in Xizang, Chengzhou-Chongqing and the Yangtze River Delta.

Tang Jiqiang, chief researcher of the West Finance Think Tankof Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, believes that "the construction of a three-dimensional transportation system with air ports and railway ports as the main parts is the key for Sichuan and even the west to accelerate the opening up and development and serve the overall situation of the country."

"Chengdu Tianfu International Airport is one of the highest-ranking airports on the Silk Road Economic Belt." Zhan Jinsheng, project manager of Tianfu International Airport T1 Terminal of China Construction Eighth Bureau, said, "Airplanes, high-speed trains, subways, cars and other modes of transportation converge at one point. A 350 km/h bullet train runs under the airport without slowing down and the terminal does not feel vibration. This is unprecedented in the world."

Up to now, Chengdu has 131 international (regional) passenger and freight routes, among which 81 are regular direct flights. A total of 8,000 China-Europe freight trains have been issued from Chengdu, covering 61 overseas cities. The opening of the new airport will be more closely connected with the China-Europe freight train and the Yangtze River waterway. The enhanced three-dimensional transportation network will make Chengdu a strong connection point between "One Belt And One Road" and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and further promote the opening of Sichuan.

Based on double city service double cycle

According to the statistics of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the passenger throughput of Chengdu and Chongqing Airport Group will reach 83.83 million person-times in 2020, directly catching up with the 91.481 million person-times of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Airport Group in the nine cities of the Pearl River Delta. At present, Chongqing is actively planning a new airport. In the future, four international airports are expected to be covered within the one-hour traffic radius of the Shuangcheng Economic Circle in Chengdu-Chongqing region.

"The airport cluster develops along with the city cluster." Zou Jianjun, a professor at the Civil Aviation Management Institute of China, said, "The two cities of Chengdu and Chongqing are going to jointly serve the huge market in the west of China to a large extent. It is necessary to develop aviation oriented economy through a more open market environment, and accelerate the integration of air transportation, modern manufacturing and service industry."

Centering on the new opportunities brought by the new airport, Chengdu Future Science and Technology City has accelerated the introduction of aerospace, electronic information, high-end manufacturing, science and technology services and other industries, signing and registering 12 projects with a total investment of over 100 billion yuan.

In the eastern new district of chengdu, the first science and technology innovation project of CAAC with an investment of more than ten billion yuan -- the civil aviation science and technology innovation demonstration zone is in full steam.

"In the future, it will form a base for basic scientific research, equipment manufacturing, application technology development and achievement transformation of civil aviation." Luo Yongjian, director of the Second Research Institute of Civil Aviation Administration of China, told reporters, "Huawei, 360, Beiyang and other domestic top enterprises and institutions have signed cooperation agreements with us. In the future, they will send research and development teams to settle in, which is expected to directly promote the formation of a 10-billion level industry."

Construction of the Tianfu campus of the Civil Aviation Flight College of China, which can accommodate 25, 000 full-time students, is also accelerating. "The integration of Tianfu International Airport, Tianfu Campus of Civil Aviation Flight College and the Innovation Demonstration Zone of Civil Aviation Science and Technology will strongly promote aviation manufacturing, maintenance, research and development and talent training." "Said Zhou Xiang, director of the Civil Aviation Flight Institute of China.

The Comprehensive Transportation Development Plan of Shuangcheng and Chongqing Economic Circle recently released by the National Development and Reform Commission puts forward: "Focus on building an international comprehensive transportation hub cluster in the Shuangcheng and Chongqing Economic Circle with Chengdu and Chongqing as the center, and play the role of a transportation center with global access, efficient connection and perfect functions."

It can be predicted that with the accelerated construction of world-class airport cluster, the economic circle in Chengdu-Chongqing region will be guided by the construction of "One Belt And One Road" to promote the realization of domestic accessibility and international opening up, support the double-cycle development pattern of service, and continuously move from the inland hinterland to the forefront of China's opening up.