The new airport has two runways (versus the single runway at Wujiaba), and handled 48,075,978 passengers in 2019, making it one of the 50 busiest airports in the world by passenger traffic, the first time it earned this distinction.
The main terminal was designed by architectural firm SOM with engineering firm Arup.[4]
History
Construction began in 2009. At the time, the facility was reported to be named the Zheng He International Airport, named after Zheng He, a Chinese mariner, explorer, and diplomat.
The very short construction time was marred by two separate incidents. The first occurred on January 3, 2010, when seven construction workers died as an incomplete overpass collapsed.[5] On June 28, 2011, 11 workers were injured when a tunnel that was under construction collapsed.[6]
Construction of the airport's main terminal was completed by July 2011.[7]
Facilities
Terminal
The main 548,300 m2 (5,901,852 sq ft) terminal of Changshui International Airport is the second largest terminal building in China.[8] The terminal has 66 gates with jet bridges. A total of 88 gates are available.
The new terminal under construction in April 2011
Curbside
Arrivals lounge of Kunming Changshui International Airport
Kunming Changshui International Airport now has two runways. East runway is 4,500 metres (14,763 ft 9 in) long while west runway is 4,000 metres (13,123 ft 4 in) long.
A-CDM
In July 2014, Kunming airport signed an agreement with the aviation data service company VariFlight regarding the Airport Collaborative Decision Making system (A-CDM) installation in order to improve the efficiency of its operations, reduce fuel consumption and other expenses. Kunming airport became the first aviation hub in China to implement such an information system. In 2017, the airport's on-time performance reached 85.3%.[9]
The airport is connected to Kunming by a 13 km (8.1 mi) toll highway known as the Airport Expressway, as well as Provincial Road S101.
Metro
Kunming Airport station, located within the airport, is the eastern terminus of Line 6 of the Kunming Metro. The line opened on the same day as the airport, and originally terminated at East Coach Station on its west side. Following the completion of Line 6 Phase 2 in September 2020, the line now has its western terminus at Tangzixiang station on the southern side of Kunming's city center.
Bus
There are several shuttle bus services available from the city centre.
Statistics
Annual traffic statistics at Kunming Changshui International Airport
^2012年全国机场吞吐量排名 (in Chinese). Civil Aviation Administration of China. 28 March 2013. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
^2013年民航机场吞吐量排名 (in Chinese). Civil Aviation Administration of China. 24 March 2013. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
^2014年民航机场吞吐量排名 (in Chinese). Civil Aviation Administration of China. 3 April 2015. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
^2016年民航机场生产统计公报. CAAC. 24 February 2017. Archived from the original on 23 August 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
^2017年民航机场生产统计公报 (in Chinese). Civil Aviation Administration of China. 2018-03-07. Archived from the original on 2015-08-23. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
^2018年民航机场生产统计公报 (in Chinese). Civil Aviation Administration of China. 2019-03-24. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
^2019年民航机场生产统计公报 (in Chinese). Ministry Transport of China. 2020-03-09. Retrieved 2021-03-23.