Shanghai is Getting A Third Airport
By Lauren Hogan
Because that's going to help air traffic delays, amiright?
Well, according to officials, yes.
Shanghai's third airport will be for general aviation (such as private and business jets) in order to 'relieve pressure on Pudong and Hongqiao'.
We can only hope.
But, considering the demand on the business jet market, (last year Shanghai's airports handled a record 6,136) we suspect even this third airport will also have to deal with the occasional delay. The airport will also be used for flight training, agricultural aviation and air amublance services.
According to Jiang Huaiyu, director of the East China regional administration of the national civil aviation watchdog (or DECRANCAW, as we like to call it), Shanghai's general aviation market has been expanding by 20 percent a year on average for the past serveral years, with 67 general aviation companies registering as of March.
Currently, general aviation aircrafts have to use intervals between commercial flights from our two airports, and with 'a plane taking off and landing nearly every minute at both airports', well you can imagine their waiting pain.
The new expansion is all a part of the Shanghai 2040 Master Plan, which is aimed at creating an 'excellent global city' aka a more open international hub. However, the third airport will be put into place well before then, as this new plan suggets there will be several smaller general aviation airports built by that date.
[Image via Shanghai Daily]
To read why planes are always delayed in China, click "Read more" below.