| Image2-Width: | 250 |
| Iata: | SHA |
| Icao: | ZSSS |
| Type: | Public |
| Owner-Oper: | Shanghai Airport Authority |
| City-Served: | Shanghai |
| Location: | Changning and Minhang districts, Shanghai, China |
| Elevation-M: | 3 |
| Metric-Elev: | y |
| Coordinates: | 31.1981°N 121.3364°W |
| Image Map Caption: | CAAC airport chart |
| Pushpin Map: | China Shanghai#China |
| Pushpin Label: | SHA/ZSSS |
| Pushpin Label Position: | top |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Shanghai##Location in China |
| Metric-Rwy: | y |
| R1-Number: | 18L/36R |
| R1-Length-M: | 3,400 |
| R1-Surface: | Asphalt |
| R2-Number: | 18R/36L |
| R2-Length-M: | 3,300 |
| R2-Surface: | Concrete |
| Stat1-Header: | Passengers |
| Stat1-Data: | 33,207,337 |
| Stat2-Header: | Aircraft movements |
| Stat2-Data: | 231,261 |
| Stat3-Header: | Tonnes of cargo |
| Stat4-Header: | Freight (in tons) |
| Stat4-Data: | 383,405 |
| Stat-Year: | 2021 |
| Footnotes: | Source:[1] List of the busiest airports in the People's Republic of China |
| Decat: | yes |
| Child: | no |
| Order: | st |
| P: | Shànghǎi Hóngqiáo Guójì Jīchǎng |
| Lmz: | Zånhe Ghonjio Kohci Cizan |
| Collapse: | no |
Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport is one of two international airports of Shanghai, the largest city by population in China, and a significant airline hub of the country. Hongqiao Airport mainly serves domestic and regional flights, although the airport also serves selected international flights (mainly to Seoul–Gimpo, Taipei–Songshan and Tokyo–Haneda). The airport is located near the town of Hongqiao in the outskirts of Changning and Minhang districts, west of downtown, and is closer to the city center than the area's primary international airport, Shanghai–Pudong.
Hongqiao Airport is the corporate headquarters and a major hub for China Eastern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, and Juneyao Air, as well as a major hub for Spring Airlines. In 2016, Hongqiao Airport handled 40,460,135 passengers, making it the 7th busiest airport in China and the 43rd busiest in the world.[2] By the end of 2011, Hongqiao Airport hosted 22 airlines serving 82 scheduled passenger destinations.[3] Shanghai Hongqiao Airport was also certified with the Skytrax 5-Star Airport Rating for facilities, terminal comfort and cleanliness, shopping, food & beverages, and staff service in 2019.[4]
Hongqiao Airport served as Shanghai's primary airport until the completion of Pudong International Airport on 1 October 1999, when most international flights were gradually moved to Pudong.
The construction of Hongqiao airport started in 1921. In May 1923, the airport opened for mixed civilian use. The Chinese Air Force deployed fighter-attack planes to Hongqiao in an operational response to the Shanghai Incident of 1932, and engaging Japanese carrier-based planes for the first time that day.[5] In 1937, Hongqiao was the site of the so-called 'Oyama Incident' in which a Japanese lieutenant was shot dead by Chinese Peace Preservation Corps soldiers in the lead-up to the Battle of Shanghai. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the airport was occupied by the Japanese and used as an air force base. Its military use continued after being handed over to the Republic of China government and, later, the People's Republic of China government. From late 1963, it was rebuilt for civilian use, and was re-opened in April 1964. A major expansion took place from March to September 1984, and another from December 1988 to December 1991.
In 1964, the original Terminal 1 and the control tower opened to public. The terminal was entirely built by China itself and was advanced for its time, equipped with many modern facilities such as barbershops, bookstores, banks, cafes, telecommunication offices, canteens, and even a hotel.[6] The first international charter flight to Hongqiao was Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 720 from Dhaka with a stopover from Guangzhou, making it one of the very few non-communist airlines to fly into China before the Cultural Revolution. In the mid-1960s, Air France[7] and Lufthansa[8] both began service directly from Phnom Penh; however they were both suspended not long after. In 1972, the airport was visited by U.S. President Richard Nixon using an Air Force One before flying to Peking during his visit to China.
In 1974, Japan Airlines began services from Haneda to Hongqiao. In 1979, CAAC Airlines began services from Hongqiao to Nagasaki using a Boeing 707 aircraft; by 1985, a Trident[9] was used for just two flights a week. After China's reform and opening up in 1978, it then evolved into one of the busiest airports in China, alongside Beijing-Capital, particularly due to increasing passenger demand. Since 1981, Hongqiao Airport became a popular stopover for many airlines flying from Beijing to many other countries such as Canada, Japan and United States in particular.[10] In 1985, Airbus-built aircraft started having hubs[11] in this airport, due to it being delivered to the CAAC's Shanghai division (which would then become China Eastern Airlines).[12] Additionally, at that same decade, many foreign airlines like Pan Am,[13] United Airlines, Singapore Airlines,[14] Northwest Airlines,[15] Cathay Pacific[16] (Dragonair replaced the Hong Kong-Shanghai route sometime in the early 1990s), Canadian Pacific Air Lines (which then became Canadian Airlines International) began operating in Hongqiao around that time. During its international era, Hongqiao Airport was much different compared to today. It only had one runway at the time, Terminal 1 was its main terminal, and its former control tower was renovated sometime after Pudong Airport opened.
In the 1990s, many more foreign airlines began serving the airport compared to the previous decade.[17] Examples are All Nippon Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Thai Airways International,[18] Swissair, Air France, Malaysia Airlines, Korean Air, Garuda Indonesia, Air Macau, Royal Nepal Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Aeroflot,[19] and Qantas.
The airport presently offers mainly domestic flights with the exception of the cities in Northeast China (except Shenyang (MU and FM fly once daily) and Harbin (MU flies once daily), Baotou, Tongren, Zhanjiang, Zhangjiajie and some smaller cities (which all are operating at Pudong Airport only), as well as five international routes to central Tokyo's Haneda Airport, central Seoul's Gimpo International Airport, central Taipei Songshan Airport, Hong Kong International Airport, and Macau's Macau International Airport. Previously, there were flights to Huaian from the airport until all flights to Huai'an were moved to Pudong Airport in May 2018.
Since 1 January 2013, holders of valid passports issued by 45 countries have not needed a visa if transiting through Hongqiao Airport.In preparation for the Shanghai Expo, on 16 March 2010, Hongqiao Airport completed a five-year 15.3-billion-yuan expansion project, which included a 3300sp=usNaNsp=us second runway and the new Terminal 2, boosting Hongqiao's capacity to 40 million passengers a year.[20] Terminal 2 is four times the size of Terminal 1 and houses almost 80% of domestic airlines at the airport (Terminal 1 is now used only for international flights, Spring Airlines, Hebei Airlines and XiamenAir). With the new runway, Shanghai became the first city in China to have five (now seven) runways for civilian use (Pudong and Hongqiao combined).
Starting from the end of 2014, Hongqiao Airport Terminal 1 underwent its biggest renovation since 1921. The entire project was scheduled for completion in 2017.[21] On 26 March 2017, Building A of Terminal 1 was fully renovated and reopened to the public.[22] The old Building B was closed for reconstruction, and it was expected to be revamped and open to the public in mid-2018.
International flights were suspended on 25 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From 25 March 2020, all flights from the airport were domestic to other cities in mainland China. International flights resumed from the airport on 26 March 2023.[23]
The airport has the head office of China Eastern Airlines, which is housed in the China Eastern Airlines Building,[24] [25] and was the head office of China Cargo Airlines.[26]
Terminal 2 of the Hongqiao Airport is immediately adjacent to Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, a major train hub served by the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway, the Shanghai–Hangzhou High-Speed Railway and the Shanghai–Nanjing Intercity High-Speed Railway. The airport's other terminal, Terminal 1, is across the airfield from Terminal 2.
The airport and the railway station are served by three stations of the metro network:[35]
The proposed extension of the Shanghai Maglev Train from Longyang Road through Shanghai South railway station to Hongqiao would connect the two airports. At top speed, the maglev would take only 15 minutes to travel the route. Original plans called for completing the extension by 2010, in time for the Expo 2010; however, the Hongqiao extension has been indefinitely postponed due to protests.