Shanghai Pudong International Airport (IATA:PVG,ICAO:ZSPD) (SSE:600009) is an airport located in the eastern part of Pudong district of Shanghai,China.It is a major international gateway into China,handling 17.15 million passengers on international flights in 2006,of which 9 million are foreigners,and beating Beijing Capital International Airport's 12.6 million international passengers[1].The airport is the main hub for China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines.United Parcel Service will open a hub at the airport in 2008.[2] Shanghai Pudong International Airport is curfew free and operates 24 hours a day depending whether its passenger or logistics.[3]
Before the opening of Shanghai Pudong International Airport,Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport used to be main airport of Shanghai.During the 1990's,the expansion of Hongqiao was impossible when the city grew and surrounded Hongqiao.So then the government had to look for an alternative for Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to take all of its international flights.A particular place was at the coast of the Pudong development zone to the East of Shanghai.
The airport opened on October 1,1999,replacing Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport as Shanghai's international airport and taking over all of its international flights,including regional flights to Hong Kong and Macau (limited international services will resume at Hongqiao from October 2007[4]).A second identical runway was opened on March 17,2005,the third runway set to become operational in the 4th quarter of 2007 and a fourth runway in planning stage.The second terminal is nearly complete and scheduled to open by the end of 2007.The long-term plan calls for a total of three terminals,two satellite halls and five parallel runways,for a final capacity of 80 million passengers per year.
Transrapid constructed the first commercial high-speed maglev railway in the world,from the Pudong International Airport to Long Yang Road Metro station.It was inaugurated in 2002.It has a peak speed of 431 km/h and a track length of 30 km.
The airport was largely funded by a 40 billion yen 400 million USD) grant from Japan.In 2004,the airport handled nearly 500 flights per day,carrying more than 21 million passengers per year in and out of China's most populated city.Since Pudong handles many airlines at rush hour times,most planes have to park on the apron.In order to solve this problem,Pudong is to open Terminal 2 by the end of 2007,which will be located behind the Terminal 1,the only terminal at this time for an additional capacity of 40 million passengers a year.Half of terminal 2 will dedicated to all of the Star Alliance carriers.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport is ranked 6th busiest in terms of cargo traffic,and 28th in terms of in international passenger traffic.It is also ranked 40th in Passenger traffic,carrying 26,790,826 passengers in and out of the airport.It is 8th busiest airport in Asia in passenger traffic.
Recently,China Southern Airlines stated that Shanghai Pudong International Airport will be home to its five Airbus A380s,however there is no statement if China Southern Airlines will have a hub in Shanghai Pudong International Airport.