Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport

Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (IATA: SHA, ICAO: ZSSS) is the main domestic airport serving Shanghai, with limited international flights. It is located near the town of Hongqiao in Changning District, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) west of downtown, and is closer to the city center than Pudong Airport, Shanghai's main international airport.

Hongqiao Airport is a hub for China Eastern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Juneyao Airlines and Spring Airlines. In 2014, Hongqiao Airport handled 37,960,200 passengers, a growth of 21.3% over 2010, making it the 4th busiest airport in mainland China and the 21st busiest in the world. The airport was also mainland China's 5th busiest airport in terms of cargo traffic and the 7th busiest by traffic movements. By the end of 2011 Hongqiao Airport hosted 22 airlines serving 82 scheduled passenger destinations.

History

An airport was first built in the town of Hongqiao in the west of Shanghai in 1907, initially as a small military airfield. In March 1923, it was upgraded into the Hongqiao Airport for mixed civilian use. 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.