Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Shenyang Taoxian International Airport is the principal gateway to Liaoning province, lying some 20 km south of Shenyang city centre in the Hunnan district of China. A hub for China Southern Airlines with a single long instrument runway, it is a major international and domestic node in Northeast China, of interest to the simulator pilot for its scale of airline traffic and its full ILS approach facilities.
Shenyang Taoxian International Airport serves Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province in Northeast China, and sits in Taoxian Town within the Hunnan district, about 20 km south of the city centre. It is operated by the Shenyang Taoxian Airport Authority and functions as a hub for China Southern Airlines, handling a substantial mix of domestic and international airline traffic including long-haul services to destinations such as Frankfurt and Tokyo-Narita. For a simulator pilot, the field offers a busy Chinese trunk airport experience with a single very long runway, full ILS coverage and layered ATC services from delivery through to tower.
Taoxian lies in controlled airspace befitting a major international airport, with dedicated approach, delivery, ground, apron and tower frequencies indicating a fully staffed ATC environment. The airport is located in Hunnan district, roughly 20 km south of central Shenyang, with the city and its earlier airport, the now-closed Shenyang Dongta Airport, lying to the north.
The airport has a single physical runway, 06/24, some 10,478 feet long with a hard surface. It is lit and equipped with ILS on both directions, suitable for large commercial jet operations in most weather conditions.
Pilots should expect to work Taoxian Approach on 119.825 MHz, with ATIS broadcast on 127.45 MHz. On the ground, Taoxian Delivery operates on 121.675 MHz, Taoxian Ground on 121.9 MHz, with a separate Taoxian Apron frequency on 121.95 MHz, and Shenyang Tower on 118.1 MHz. The runway's ILS provides instrument approach guidance for both 06 and 24.
Construction of the airport began on 1 July 1985 and it opened on 16 April 1989, becoming the main hub of China Northern Airlines, which commenced operations there a year later. It replaced Shenyang's older airport, Shenyang Dongta Airport, which had been built in 1921 and had served destinations across the USSR, Mongolia, Japan and the Koreas but could no longer cope with rising passenger numbers following China's reform and opening-up. Once Taoxian opened, Dongta ceased civil operations and reverted to military use, a role it had also held under Japanese occupation from 1936 to 1945 and under the PLAAF from 1950, before finally closing in 2013. Lufthansa launched the airport's first intercontinental service, to Frankfurt, in April 2012, suspending it in October 2016 before relaunching the route in March 2018; Sichuan Airlines also began flights to Vancouver in 2012.
Taoxian is now a major international airport and a hub for China Southern Airlines, with a wide network of domestic Chinese routes and international services to destinations including Frankfurt, Dubai, Tokyo-Narita, Osaka-Kansai, Seoul-Incheon, Busan, Taipei-Taoyuan, Singapore and Pyongyang, among others. Given its scale and the volume of scheduled airline movements, general aviation and visiting sim pilots should anticipate the need for prior permission before any visit.