Wuhan Tianhe International Airport  is an airport serving Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It was opened on 15 April 1995, replacing the old Hankou Wangjiadun Airport and Nanhu Airport as the major airport of Wuhan. The airport is located in Wuhan's suburban Huangpi District, around  to the north of Wuhan city center.

It is the busiest airport in central China as it is geographically located in the centre of China's airline route network. The airport served 20,772,000 passengers in 2016, making it the 14th busiest airport by passenger traffic in China. The airport is a focus city for Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines. The airport has flights to international destinations such as New York City, San Francisco, Tokyo, Rome, Istanbul, Dubai, Sydney, Bali, Bangkok, Moscow, Osaka, Seoul, and Singapore. The name Tianhe () can be literally translated as "Sky River"; Tianhe is also one of the names for the Milky Way in ancient Chinese.

Since 2019, passengers from 53 countries such as the EU countries, Japan, South Korea, Russia, the U.S., when transiting to a third country, can enter China from this airport without a Chinese visa for up to 144 hours.

On 23 January 2020, the airport was closed due to the 2020 Hubei lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, where the first outbreak happened in Wuhan. The airport reopened on 8 April 2020 following a large-scale disinfection.

History 

To replace the old Wangjiadun Airport and the larger, international Nanhu Airport, the Chinese government permitted plans to build a commercial airport in Tianhe Town, Huangpi District, Wuhan on 1 July 1985. The first term construction started in December 1989 and finished in April 1994. It initially operated domestic flights but later in 2000, the CAA re-designated it as an international airport.

Nanhu Airport was the main airport of Wuhan before 1995. Although built in 1936 as a military airport and 1951 as a civil airport, it was located near the city center, and by 1994, air traffic had climaxed and the airport was too small to handle larger amount of passengers. The first international flight from and to Wuhan only started on   Halloween 1992, when Wuhan-Vientiane route was opened.

The airport was opened on 15 April 1995, and the old Nanhu Airport is closed in the same time. Any passengers still waiting at Nanhu Airport were immediately taken by bus to the new Tianhe Airport. Wangjiadun Airport still opened by that time, but mainly for military operations, then closed and demolished in 2007.

The airport has expanded twice – first for terminal 2 and second for terminal 3, new control tower and the second runway.

Wuhan opened up to intercontinental flights when Air France began service from Paris on 11 April 2012, and two years later opened up to the United States non-stop when China Southern Airlines announced, in September 2014, a daily non-stop flight to San Francisco, originating from Guangzhou, operating with a Boeing 787 to begin 16 December 2014.

Facilities

Runways
Tianhe International Airport has two runways: Runway West (04L 22R) with a length of  and width of ; and Runway East (04R 22L main runway)with a length of  and width of . Tianhe Airport is equipped with ILS II in the south side (main landing side) and ILS I on the north side. The East runway is equipped with blind landing systems.

Terminals

Terminal 1 (demolished)
Terminal 1 was opened in 1995 when all flight services were transferred from Nanhu Airport to Tianhe International Airport. It was located at where the west concourse of Terminal 3 stands nowadays. It had been the only terminal of the airport until Terminal 2 was completed in 2008.

From 2008 onwards, all domestic flights were operated at T2 while international flights were still operated at T1. T1 was closed in 2010 after serving international flights for two years. A new international terminal was built in 2010, and has undergone subsequent expansions after seeing major increase of international travelers. The terminal was demolished during the construction of Terminal 3.

Terminal 2 (closed)
Terminal 2 was the main terminal for Tianhe Airport during 2008–2017, which handled only domestic airlines. It has a floor area of 121,200 square meters and a designed capacity to handle 13 million passengers and 320,000 tons of cargo a year. The project was completed on 15 April 2008, at a total cost of 3.37 billion yuan (421.5 million US dollars). By 2010, Wuhan served at least 5 international and 100 domestic routes. The airport's cargo-handling capacity is to reach 144,000 tons.
 
Terminal 2 was closed when Terminal 3 were officially opened in mid 2017 for the upgrade construction.

International Terminal (closed)
The International Terminal was opened in December 2010 and all international flights and flights to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan operated at the International Terminal from 2010 to 2017. After the old Terminal 1 was closed in 2010, the International Terminal was sometimes mistakenly called "T1" by passengers.

The single-floor terminal is located at the southwest of Terminal 2. It has a floor area of 5310 square meters, shared by both departure and arrival facilities. To handle wide-body jet within limited ramp, there is no air-bridge for this terminal.

Due to its compact size and the growing number of international flights, there were complaints that Terminal 1 was "too crowded". In 2013, the average departure traffic was 880 per hour during the peak season, which was far greater than its designed maximum capacity of 550.

The International Terminal was closed in mid 2017 and it will be turned to a chartered and VIP terminal in the future.

Terminal 3

Starting from 31 August 2017, all flights from the original International Terminal (international, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) and T2 (domestic) have been moved to Terminal 3, which has a passenger capacity of 35 million. Following the opening of the new Terminal 3, International Terminal (IT) and Terminal 2 (T2) were closed temporarily for renovation. IT is scheduled to operate as the VIP terminal. T2 will undergo renovation and reopen when passengers in T3 exceed the design limit. The T3 has a new departure lounge, restaurants and duty-free shops.

The construction of Terminal 3 started in June 2013 and it was opened on 31 August 2017. A new runway, new control tower, and a transportation hub connecting the airport to the city with an intercity railway and a metro line have been built and opened along with the new terminal.

Future development
According to the 2019–2025 development plan by Hubei Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the fourth terminal, a new satellite terminal and a third runway will be built.

Presently, Tianhe is the only civic airport in the Wuhan metropolitan area. However, the city authorities are considering repurposing the military Shanpo Airfield (山坡机场; ), located in the city's far southern suburbs (Shanpo Township, Jiangxia District), as a commercial cargo airport. If the plans are implemented, Shanpo will become Wuhan's second airport.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Gallery

Transportation

Roads 
Two tolled expressways, the S18 Wuhan Airport Expressway and the S19 Wuhan Airport 2nd Expressway, connect the airport to downtown Hankou.

Public transport 
There is a limited bus service between Wuhan Tianhe Airport and several bus stops in the urban area of Wuhan.

The Wuhan–Xiaogan intercity railway, one of the lines of the Wuhan Metropolitan Area intercity railway, serves Wuhan Tianhe Airport. This railway opened in December 2016.

The extension of Line 2 of Wuhan Metro to Tianhe International Airport station opened on 28 December 2016.

References

External links

Wuhan Tianhe International Airport Official website 

Airports in Hubei
Transport in Wuhan
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in China
Airports established in 1995
1995 establishments in China
우한 톈허 국제공항(, )는 중화인민공화국 후베이성 우한시에 있는 국제공항으로 1995년 4월 15일에 개항했다. 우한 시내로부터 약 35km 정도 떨어져 있다.

구성

터미널 1(없어짐) 
제1터미널은 1995년 난후공항에서 톈허 국제공항으로 모든 항공편이 갈아타면서 개통되었다. 그것은 요즘 3번 터미널의 서쪽 중앙홀이 서 있는 곳에 있다. 2008년 터미널 2가 완공될 때까지 공항의 유일한 터미널이었다.

2008년부터는 T2에서 모든 국내선이 운항되고 국제선은 T1에서 계속 운항되었다. T1은 2년간 국제선을 운항하다 2010년 문을 닫았다. 2010년에 새로운 국제 터미널이 세워졌고, 국제 여행객이 크게 증가한 후에 후속 확장을 겪었다. 그리고 제3터미널 건설 중에 철거되었다.

터미널 2(폐쇄) 
제2터미널은 2008년~2017년 톈허공항의 주요 터미널로 국내 항공사만 취급했다. 연면적 12만1200m2에 연간 1300만 명의 승객과 32만 톤의 화물을 처리할 수 있는 설계 용량이다. 2008년 4월 15일 총 33억7000만 위안(약 4000억2150만 달러)의 비용으로 완공됐다. 우한은 2010년까지 최소 5개의 국제선과 100개의 국내 노선을 운행했다. 공항의 화물 처리 능력은 14만 4천 톤에 이른다.

제2터미널은 2017년 중반 업그레이드 공사를 위해 제3터미널이 정식 개통되면서 폐쇄됐다.

국제 터미널(폐쇄) 
국제선 터미널은 2010년 12월 개통되었으며, 2010년부터 2017년까지 홍콩, 마카오, 타이완으로 가는 모든 국제선과 항공편이 국제선 터미널에서 운영되었다. 2010년 옛 터미널 1이 폐쇄된 후, 국제선 터미널은 때때로 승객들에 의해 "T1"이라고 잘못 불렸다.

1층 터미널은 제2터미널 남서쪽에 있다. 연면적 5310m2로 출발시설과 도착시설 모두 공유한다. 제한된 램프 안에서 넓은 차체의 제트기를 다루기 위해, 이 터미널에는 에어 브리지가 없다.

규모가 작고 국제선 운항 횟수가 증가함에 따라 제1터미널이 "너무 붐빈다"는 불만이 제기되었다. 2013년에는 평균 출발 트래픽이 피크 시즌 동안 시간당 880으로 설계한 최대 수용용량 550보다 훨씬 많았다.

국제선 터미널은 2017년 중반에 폐쇄되었으며, 향후 전세선과 VIP 터미널로 전환될 예정이다.

터미널 3 
2017년 8월 31일부터는 원래 국제선 터미널(국제, 홍콩, 마카오, 대만)과 T2(국내)에서 출발하는 모든 항공편이 3,500만 명의 승객 수용 능력을 가진 터미널 3으로 이동되었다. 새 터미널 3이 개통된 후 T1과 T2는 개조를 위해 일시적으로 폐쇄되었다. T1은 VIP 터미널로 운영될 예정이다. T2는 T3 승객이 설계한도를 초과하면 개조를 거쳐 재개장한다.

T3에는 새로운 출발 라운지와 식당, 면세점이 있다.

제3터미널은 2013년 6월 착공해 2017년 8월 31일 개통했다. 새로운 터미널과 함께 공항과 도시를 연결하는 새로운 활주로, 새로운 관제탑, 그리고 새로운 터미널과 함께 공항과 도시를 연결하는 교통 허브가 건설되었다.

운항 노선

국제선

국내선

화물 노선

연결 교통

지하철 

우한 지하철 2호선 연장선이 개통되어 공항 인근에 天河机场역이 있다.

한커우 장한루(江漢路)역까지 약 50분 소요, 6위안, 우창 지에다오커우(街道口)역까지 약 1시간 9분 소요, 7위안

공항버스 

공항에서 우한시내로 가는 방면

 공항버스1호선
민항신촌 경유, 우창 푸쟈포시외버스터미널 행 (우한지하철 2, 4호선 중난루 역과 인접), 첫차 오전 8시 30분, 막차 마지막 비행기 도착시까지. 요금 32위안
 공항버스2호선
민항신촌 경유, 우창 홍치시외버스터미널 행 (우한지하철 4호선 우창 역과 인접), 첫차 오전 8시 30분, 막차 마지막 비행기 도착시까지. 요금 32위안
 공항버스3호선
민항신촌 경유, 한커우 신화루메이리엔호텔 행 (한커우 진자둔시외버스터미널 경유), 첫차 오전 8시 30분, 막차 마지막 비행기 도착시까지. 요금 17위안
 공항버스4호선
민항신촌 경유, 한커우 진자둔시외버스터미널 행 (우한지하철 2호선 한커우역과 인접), 첫차 오전 8시 30분, 막차 마지막 비행기 도착시까지. 요금 17위안
 공항버스5호선
우한역 행(우한지하철 4호선 우한 역과 인접) 첫차 오전 9시 20분, 막차 오후 9시. 요금 37위안
 공항버스6호선
한양시외버스터미널 행, 첫차 오전 8시 50분, 막차 오후 7시 40분. 요금 22위안
 공항버스7호선
민항신촌 경유, 신영시외버스터미널 행, 첫차 오전 10시 30분, 막차 오후 7시. 요금 35위안

우한시내에서 공항으로 가는 방면

 공항버스1호선
우창 푸쟈포시외버스터미널 출발 -> 우창 홍치시외버스터미널 -> 민항신촌 -> 공항. 첫차 오전 6시, 막차 오후 8시. 요금 32위안, 소요시간 90분. 매 30분간격
 공항버스2호선
황학루 출발 -> 민항신촌 -> 공항. 첫차 오전 8시 45분, 막차 오후 5시 45분, 요금 32위안, 소요시간 60분. 매 1시간 간격
 공항버스3호선
한커우 신화루메이리엔호텔 출발 -> 민항신촌 -> 공항. 첫차 오전 6시 20분, 막차 오후 8시 20분, 요금 17위안, 소요시간 60분. 매 30분 간격
 공항버스4호선
한커우 진자둔시외버스터미널 출발 -> 민항신촌 -> 공항. 첫차 오전 6시 5분, 막차 오후 8시 40분, 요금 17위안, 소요시간 40분, 매 30분 간격
 공항버스4호선
민항신촌 -> 공항. 첫차 오전 5시 50분, 막차 오후 10시, 요금 17위안, 소요시간 25분, 매 20분 간격
 공항버스5호선
우한역 출발 -> 공항. 첫차 오전 9시, 막차 오후 7시 30분, 요금 37위안, 소요시간 70분, 매 20분 간격
 공항버스6호선
한양시외버스터미널출발 -> 공항. 첫차 오전 7시 30분, 막차 오후 6시. 소요시간 60분, 매 90분 간격
 공항버스7호선
신영시외버스터미널출발 -> 공항. 첫차 오전 9시, 막차 오후 5시 30분, 소요시간 30분, 매 30분 간격

민항신촌 정류장은 우한지하철 2호선 창강루(长港路, 장항로)역과 가까운편이다.(약 500미터 거리)

택시 

우한공항에서 우한시내까지 120~150위안, 약 1시간 소요.

각주

외부 링크 

  공식 홈페이지 

후베이성의 공항
우한시의 건축물
우한시의 교통