File photo (Courtesy of the Hunan Airport Group)

According to Hunan Airport Group, Hunan has completed takeoffs and landings of 205,000 flights in 2020, with a passenger throughput of 23.569 million and a cargo and mail throughput of 195,000 tons. The figures were higher than the six central provinces’ average. Changsha Huanghua International Airport saw 1155,000 takeoffs and landings, with a passenger throughput of 19.224 million; while Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport handled 13,000 takeoffs and landings, with a passenger throughput of 1.278 million.

At the beginning of 2020, a sudden COVID-19 epidemic disrupted the production of all industries. In the early stage of the epidemic, Hunan Airport Group issued China's first preferential policy to support airlines' main routes and ensure that Changsha has daily flights to major cities across the country. After the epidemic was initially brought under control, Hunan Airport Group restored flight services and increased flight capacity, and joined hands with China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines to open Changsha-Daxing and Hunan-Shanghai air routes. Currently, Hunan airports have restored connection with 122 airports in 30 provinces, while in this February Hunan connected with 24 airports in 16 provinces. Daily flights have recovered from 110 takeoffs and landings to 800. International passenger routes to Bangkok, Kenya, and other countries have been resumed.

Hunan Airport Group also successfully held the first Hunan Airport International Logistics Channel Development Forum. A communication platform for Hunan air cargo development was built to facilitate communication among industries, provincial and municipal ports, and domestic and foreign airlines, and promote coordination in application of airport slots and traffic rights and flights guarantee. Changsha Airport has opened 16 all-cargo routes in total. There are two domestic routes and 14 international and regional routes. During the epidemic, 19 passenger routes were transformed into cargo routes. The international and regional cargo and mail throughput of Changsha Airport reached 75,400 tons, a year-on-year increase of 48.7%, bucking the trend of global slowdown.

In 2021, Hunan Airport Group will contribute to the “three highlands and four new missions” strategy in the following aspects:
--Adapt to the new development paradigm of domestic and international circulations;
--Focus on improving air route network;
--Continue to build a four-hour aviation circle in Changsha;
--Seize development opportunities to expand air cargo market;
--Integrate resources to advance the integrated development of aviation and tourism; and,
--Promotes high-quality development of Hunan's civil aviation.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: Voice of Hunan