Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Kunming Changshui International Airport lies in the hills northeast of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province in southwestern China, and stands among the country's busiest gateways to Southeast and South Asia. Sited at a lofty field elevation of 6,886 ft, it offers a demanding high-altitude arrival for the simulator pilot, with twin hard-surfaced runways and a full ATC service. The airport replaced the old Kunming Wujiaba International Airport in 2012 and has since grown into a major hub for several Chinese carriers.
Kunming Changshui International Airport serves Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province in southwestern China, and is operated by the Yunnan Airport Group. It functions as a hub for China Eastern Airlines, Kunming Airlines, Lucky Air, Sichuan Airlines and Ruili Airlines, and as a focus city for China Southern Airlines, positioning it as a principal gateway between China and Southeast and South Asia. For the simulator pilot the field is notable chiefly for its high elevation of 6,886 ft and its long, dual hard-surfaced runway layout set among graded mountainous terrain.
The airport sits in a graded mountainous area roughly 24.5 km (15.2 mi) northeast of Kunming city centre, near Changshui and Huaqing villages on Dabanqiao Street in the Guandu District. It replaced the old Kunming Wujiaba International Airport, which lay closer to the city and was demolished after Changshui opened. At a field elevation of 6,886 ft, arriving pilots should expect reduced engine and aerodynamic performance typical of high-altitude Chinese airports.
The airport has two physical runways, both hard-surfaced and lit. One runway pair, 03L/21R, is approximately 13,098 ft in length (13,097 ft on the reciprocal heading). The other pair, 04R/22L, is recorded at 14,739 ft on the 04R heading and 13,114 ft on the reciprocal 22L heading. Neither runway is equipped with an ILS.
Kunming Approach is available on 124.22 MHz, with ATIS broadcast on 128.45 MHz. Ground movements are handled by Kunming Ground on 121.85 MHz, and Kunming Tower operates on 118.1 MHz, with a secondary tower frequency of 118.85 MHz. As a large international airport, Changshui is fully controlled and pilots should expect to work through approach, tower and ground services in sequence.
The airport lies near Changshui and Huaqing villages on Dabanqiao Street in the Guandu District, to the northeast of Kunming's city centre, which serves as a general landmark for orientation when approaching from the southwest.
Construction of the airport began in 2009, and the facility was at one stage reported to be named Zheng He International Airport, after the Chinese mariner and explorer. The build was marred by two serious incidents: on 3 January 2010 seven construction workers died when an incomplete overpass collapsed, and on 28 June 2011 eleven workers were injured when a tunnel under construction collapsed. The main terminal was completed by July 2011, and the airport formally opened at 08:00 on 28 June 2012, replacing the older Kunming Wujiaba International Airport, which was subsequently demolished. The terminal building, designed by architectural firm SOM with engineering firm Arup, is the second-largest terminal building in China.
Changshui is a major hub for China Eastern Airlines, Kunming Airlines, Lucky Air, Sichuan Airlines and Ruili Airlines, and serves as a focus city for China Southern Airlines. The main terminal covers some 548,300 square metres and offers 88 gates, 66 of them served by jet bridges. In July 2014 the airport became the first aviation hub in China to implement an Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) system, improving operational efficiency, and by 2017 on-time performance had reached 85.3 percent.