Departure
92%
vs 95% ▼ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport is a major international gateway on the east bank of the Pearl River in Bao'an District, some 32 km northwest of central Shenzhen, Guangdong province. It serves as a hub for Shenzhen Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Donghai Airlines and cargo carrier SF Airlines, and as an Asian-Pacific freight hub for UPS Airlines, making it one of the busiest and most complex fields a simulator pilot can fly into in the Pearl River Delta.
Shenzhen Bao'an is a large, heavily used international airport on the eastern bank of the Pearl River, operated by Shenzhen Airport Company Ltd. It opened in 1991 as Shenzhen Huangtian Airport and has grown into one of mainland China's busiest hubs, handling a dense mix of domestic airliner traffic, long-haul international services and substantial cargo operations. For a sim pilot it offers a demanding multi-runway, high-traffic environment close to the even busier airspace of Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
The airport lies in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, on the east bank of the Pearl River, about 32 km (20 mi) northwest of the city centre, within the wider Pearl River Delta together with Hong Kong International Airport and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. Approach control for the area is provided as Zhuhai Approach.
Shenzhen Bao'an has two physical runways. The longer, 16/34, is 12,471 ft, hard-surfaced, lit and equipped with ILS on both directions. The second, 15/33, is 11,129 ft, also hard-surfaced, lit and fitted with ILS on both directions. Field elevation is 10 ft.
Radio services include Zhuhai Approach on 120.35 MHz, ATIS on 127.45 MHz, a facility on 127.95 MHz identified as CLD, Ground on 121.65 MHz and Tower on 118.45 MHz. Both runways are equipped with ILS, supporting instrument approaches to either 16/34 or 15/33.
The airport opened on 12 October 1991 as Shenzhen Huangtian Airport, taking its current name in 2001. Its original runway was 3,400 m (about 11,155 ft) long and 45 m wide, with 53 apron parking spaces. Early terminal facilities comprised Terminals A, B and D, the latter an international terminal opened in December 2008 without its own gates, served instead by airside buses. A second runway opened in 2011, and all earlier terminals closed on 27 November 2013 as the new Terminal 3, designed by Studio Fuksas and dubbed the "giant flying fish" for its shape, opened the following day after four years of construction. A satellite concourse designed by Aedas, linked to Terminal 3 by an automated people mover, opened in December 2021. Air China launched Shenzhen's first intercontinental route, to Frankfurt, on 21 May 2016. A third runway officially opened on 29 November 2025.
Shenzhen Bao'an functions as a hub for Shenzhen Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Donghai Airlines, a focus city for Hainan Airlines, and an Asian-Pacific cargo hub for UPS Airlines, alongside cargo operator SF Airlines. It ranks among mainland China's busiest airports for both passenger and freight traffic, and now operates three runways following the 2025 expansion, giving sim pilots a genuinely large-scale, high-density airport to fly in and out of.
