China to advance construction of Chengdu-Chongqing airport cluster

BEIJING -- China will accelerate the construction of a world-class airport cluster for the development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on Tuesday.

The Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle is an important regional development strategy following the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

"Creating the airport cluster is a crucial task for the construction of the economic circle," said administration official Sun Wensheng, noting that the airports in the region do not currently have sufficient capacity to handle international flights.

By 2025, the airport cluster will have 12 airports with annual transport capacities of 210 million passengers and 3.7 million metric tons of cargo, handling about 1.5 million flights annually, according to a circular issued by the administration.

A convenient, safe, intelligent, green and highly efficient airport cluster will be fully established, boosting the economic development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, the circular said.

Efforts will be made in areas including the construction of small and medium-sized airports, air traffic control, civil aviation services, air logistics and market-oriented cooperation, according to the circular.