New airport operates smoothly in China's Chengdu

Chengdu Tianfu International Airport in Southwest China's Sichuan province is operating smoothly after its opening on June 27, with more domestic routes introduced to meet the summer vacation travel boom.

The number of daily flights has risen from 188 to 217 since July 12, and is expected to reach about 1,138 by March 2023, according to the airport's development plan.

Located some 50 km from downtown Chengdu, the Tianfu airport is the largest civil transport airport built during China's 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020) and the second international airport in the provincial capital, Chengdu.

With first-phase investment exceeding 75 billion yuan (about $11.7 billion), the airport has two terminals totaling 710,000 square meters, roughly the size of 100 football pitches, and is capable of dealing with an annual passenger throughput of 60 million.