On December 28, 2012, Shashi Airport, which had been suspended for 10 years, obtained the Civil Airport Use Permit after renovation. This marks that Shashi Airport has once again obtained the qualification for civil aviation operations.
Although it has been approved as a civil airport, due to the airport being idle for too long and the expansion of the city, Shashi Airport is currently limited to the takeoff and landing of general aircraft. It will take several years to wait for when flights will be available.
Once glorious: Shashi Airport can fly to 15 major cities
Shashi Airport was built in 1929 as a simple airport built by the Kuomintang army and was located on the west side of Sanbanqiao in Shashi.
After the founding of New China, the old airport was restored by the Shashi Municipal Government and the Civil Aviation Administration of China and then handed over to civil aviation. The Hubei Civil Aviation Bureau uses Soviet-made An-2 aircraft to open a route from Wuhan to Shashi, with one flight every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
On December 28, 1993, Shashi Airport used Boeing 737 aircraft for the first time to open the Shashi-Guangzhou route, and has successively opened up Shashi to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Huangshan, Shantou, Guilin, Haikou and other regions. of 15 routes.
On May 7, 2002, flights to Shashi Airport were suspended. Jingzhou people were reluctant to leave. Many citizens came to bid farewell to Shashi Airport.
According to statistics, from September 1988 to the end of 2014, Shashi Airport transported nearly 3 million passengers, making certain contributions to Jingzhou's economic construction and development.
Citizens ask: When will flights resume?
In the spring of 2011, at the "Two Sessions" in Jingzhou, the most attention-grabbing topic was "the restoration of flights to Shashi Airport."
In November 2010, the "Jingzhou Strong Back" project was included in the provincial strategy. The Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government promptly proposed the strategic goal of “building large-scale transportation”. Among them, "renovating Shashi Airport and vigorously developing air transportation" has become an important part of the "building mass transportation" strategy.
Subsequently, the airport renovation work began in full swing. Various instruments such as airport runways and tower equipment have been installed.
Shashi Airport passed the acceptance inspection organized by the Civil Aviation Central and South Regional Administration and regained its civil aviation status after 10 years.
However, Shashi Airport can only take off and land general aircraft. The so-called general aviation refers to flight activities in the fields of industry, agriculture, forestry, fishery, medical and health care, emergency and disaster relief, meteorological detection, etc., and is not allowed to engage in public air transport. "It's a great thing that flights at Shashi Airport have resumed, but why not open flights?" Many Shashi residents are puzzled by this.
According to industry insiders, due to the long suspension of flights, the north-south direction of Shashi Airport has given way to Jingsha Avenue and railways, and the airport runway has shrunk significantly. It used to be 1,800 meters, but now it is only about 1,200 meters, which cannot meet the needs of large-scale airports. Required for take-off and landing of transport aircraft and passenger aircraft.
Li Jun, Secretary of the Party Branch of China Southern Airlines Jingzhou Base, said that if we want to land large aircraft and launch flights, we must relocate and build. The matter of relocation and site selection is on the agenda.
Li Jun expressed optimism that he believed that in the future, Shashi Airport will be able to connect flights, and by then, citizens in the Jianghan Plain will be able to take flights to travel and do business again.
In addition, the country is currently vigorously supporting the development of general aviation, and general aviation is bound to have a huge role in promoting local economic and social development. Liu Zubin said that as a civil air transport airport with a long history, Shashi Airport has great advantages in runway length and airport operation support capabilities among similar airports. The growing demand for general aviation in the Jianghan Plain and western Hubei has provided good conditions for the development of general aviation in Jingzhou, which is located in the hinterland of central and southern China. "There are currently 5 general aviation companies at Shashi Airport, and there are 2 to 3 companies that are actively applying."
Liu Zubin said that Shashi Airport strives to standardize flight safety, procedure management, etc., and improve services. level, and support the on-site airlines to become stronger and better, thereby attracting more general aviation companies and upstream and downstream companies to settle in Jingzhou.