Xiangxi Biancheng Airport to open to traffic in March 2023

At 14:20 on December 26, a Cessna C560 inspection aircraft from the CAAC Flight Inspection Center landed at Xiangxi Biancheng Airport. This marked that the airport has entered a new stage and that Xiangxi Prefecture has ushered in a new era for aviation modernization. This flight inspection was carried out by CAAC Flight Inspection Center, and mainly used inspection aircraft with special equipment to test the navigation facilities, lights, peripheral interference, etc. around the airport.

The success of flight inspection indicates that the equipment installation of the airport is basically completed, and the airport will be put into operation soon.  

Covering an area of 3,525 mu (2,350,000 square meters), Xiangxi Biancheng Airport is adjacent to Shibadong Village, the birthplace of China’s “targeted poverty alleviation” campaign, 35 kilometers away from Jishou, the prefecture capital, and 17 kilometers away from Huayuan County.

The terminal covers an area of 11,000 square meters. The runway in the flight area is 2,600 meters long and 45 meters wide. The airport boasts five parking stands, which can accommodate Boeing 738 and Airbus A321 aircrafts. The number of the annual inbound and outbound passengers during the first phase is planned to reach 300,000, with the total investment in the airport and the supporting facilities inside and outside the airport amounting to 2.848 billion yuan.

The completed airport is divided into three functional zones of the flight zone, the functional zone and the terminal zone. The station square covers an area of 60,000 square meters, with a symmetrical layout in the middle. It integrates cultural leisure, image display and distribution functions. It’s deeply integrated with the local culture and regional characteristics of Xiangxi Prefecture.  
  The terminal is arranged in the front row parallel to the runway. The functional facilities in the building are complete and highly modernized, making passengers feel more comfortable.
 
After ten years of preliminary work and engineering construction, most of the construction and operation preparatory work of the airport has been completed, and it will be opened to traffic in March 2023.