Think about the beginning of Tianfu Airport's operation, many people said: Tianfu Airport is too far away, dogs don't want to sit, it is better to go to Chongqing to sit. Sooner or later, the flow of people in Sichuan was robbed by the airport in Chongqing.
Now, the naked slap in the face is coming. Tianfu Airport has once again proved its worth, making Chengdu a veritable western aviation hub!
Let's first take a look at the latest set of data: Southwest Regional Airport Production Statistics Briefing from January to December 2023
According to official data, from January to December 2023, the passenger throughput of the Southwest Administration Bureau reached 220 million (as shown in the figure below)
It can be seen that Sichuan as a whole has reached 87.08 million, accounting for 38%. Next to Chongqing, there are only 45.89 million, accounting for 20%
If you look specifically at the airports in the capital cities of the five provinces (regions) in the southwest, it is the following one:
It can be seen that Chongqing Jiangbei Airport is only 44.65 million, and Tianfu Airport is 44.78 million. In terms of landing sorties, Tianfu Airport is also nearly 15,000 flights higher than Chongqing Jiangbei Airport
Facts have proved that compared with Chongqing Jiangbei, more people will still choose Tianfu Airport.
Passenger throughput histogram
You know, there is an important point, Chengdu is now a double airport
Let's take a look back at the data from previous years
When it was a single airport, Shuangliu Airport was at its peak, with 55.85 million in 2019, and Chongqing Jiangbei Airport was 44.78 million at that time.
In other words, in the case of full recovery in 2023, the throughput of Jiangbei Airport will be 130,000 passengers less than the peak!
However, the throughput of Chengdu Tianfu + Shuangliu Airport reached 74.92 million passengers. It has exceeded the peak of 19.07 million passengers.
In short, the "people have gone to Chongqing" and "all have gone to Yunnan" that many people are worried about have not happened
On the contrary, because of the existence of Tianfu Airport, Sichuan Airport has welcomed 19.06 million people.
What's more, because of Tianfu Airport, Chengdu's significance as a national aviation hub is even more different.
According to statistics, Chengdu Aviation Hub completed 538,000 flight takeoffs and landings during the year, with a passenger throughput of 74.924 million person-times and a cargo and mail throughput of 771,000 tons. Nationally, Chengdu ranks third in terms of passenger throughput.
The combined annual passenger throughput of Chengdu Tianfu International Airport and Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport exceeded 70 million passengers for the first time in 2023, marking the fourth time that Chengdu has become the fourth city in mainland China to exceed 70 million passengers in terms of annual air passenger throughput after Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.
This means that Chengdu's status as the "fourth city of Chinese aviation" has been further consolidated, and it is possible that it will surpass other cities and become the "third city" in the near future. This is not only an affirmation of Chengdu's aviation industry, but also a positive reflection of the economic development of Sichuan Province and even the entire southwest region. With the rapid development of Chengdu International Airport, it has become a major aviation hub in southwest China.
This also means that Chengdu's competitiveness in the international aviation market has been continuously enhanced, bringing new and huge impetus to the development of Sichuan, Chengdu, Sichuan and Chongqing and even southwest China.
With the opening of the Chengdu-Yi high-speed railway in 2024, it is foreseeable that Tianfu Airport will usher in greater development opportunities, bringing greater opportunities to Chengdu and even Sichuan.
Those who complained about Tianfu Airport in the past are now slapped in the face.