Chinanews.com, Lanzhou, July 26 (Wang Lin, Yang Xiaolei, Nan Ru Zhuoma) On July 26, 1970, along with the smooth landing of an Il-14 aircraft, Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport was officially opened to air traffic. Since then, a convenient and unobstructed "air bridge" has been erected on the land of Longyuan. Today is the 50th anniversary of the opening of Zhongchuan Airport.
Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport is the air gateway of Lanzhou City, the capital of Gansu Province, an important airport in the northwest region, and an international alternate airport.
In 50 years, Zhongchuan Airport has been a small airport with only 5 domestic routes when it was first built, and now it has 212 passenger routes, 10 cargo routes, and can reach 119 domestic and foreign air routes including Europe, West Asia, Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea. Point of large modern international airport.
The picture shows the volunteer service during the Spring Festival at Zhongchuan International Airport. (Data map) Photo by Zhang Lisheng
"In those days, people generally couldn't afford to travel by plane, but now the annual passenger throughput has exceeded 15 million, which has changed drastically." Duan Zufa, a retired cadre representative of Zhongchuan Airport, said with emotion. After several generations of civil aviation personnel, Zhongchuan Airport has never From small to large, a historic leap has been achieved.
The few small planes, several small buildings, and rickety camel bell cars in the early days of the airport's operation have become Duan Zufa's unforgettable memories.
In the 1970s, the apron of Zhongchuan Airport, the "four-star cave hotel" in the early stage of the airport's construction...a piece of yellowish old photos, recording the youth of the older generation of civil aviation in Gansu. On the deserted and populated land, a runway paved with sand and a few simple bungalows are the original appearance of Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport.
In the 1980s, with the economic and social development of Gansu, air transportation increased substantially.
The picture shows the staff of Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport's Emergency Center of the Ministry of Health and Protection, checking information. (Data map) Photo by Li Jinrong
In 1993, the annual passenger throughput of Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport was 390,000, which jumped to 500,000 in 1995 and reached 650,000 in 1996.
By 1997, riding on the spring breeze of reform and opening up, the Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport in western China accelerated the pace of infrastructure construction and kicked off the first phase of the expansion project.
In 2001, the T1 terminal, which can meet the demand of 2.6 million passengers per year, was put into operation.
In the following ten years, with the "Western Development", Lanzhou Airport entered a period of rapid development. By 2004, the annual passenger throughput had exceeded 2.6 million passengers.
In 2011, the second phase of the Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport expansion project started construction. In 2013, Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport was officially upgraded to an international aviation port and renamed Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport.
In September 2015, the Zhongchuan Airport Comprehensive Transportation Hub with a total area of 115,000 square meters was completed and put into operation, becoming the second comprehensive transportation hub in the country that integrates civil aviation, railways, and highways with seamless transfers. Up to now, Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport has ranked 25th in the country in terms of passenger throughput, and 15th in the provincial capital.
"I can't forget the desolate feeling along the way when I took the car to the airport for the first time. At that time, the first-phase expansion project of the airport had just been completed, and the facilities and services were not perfect. Some passengers said we were behind..." At Lanzhou Airport Ground Service Long Xiaohong, who has worked in the frontline for more than 20 years, said that he secretly vowed that as long as one day in this position, one day, passengers will experience a more heartwarming service experience than first-tier city airports.
With the efforts of generations of civil aviation personnel, the comprehensive evaluation results of Zhongchuan Airport's tens of millions of airport safety capabilities have increased from 36 to 15. Among them, the "Xiaohong Help You" team won the honorary titles of "Customer Satisfaction Service Star Team", "National Civil Aviation May 1st Female Model Post", "Northwest Civil Aviation Advanced Demonstration Team", and "CAPSE Innovative Service Award".
At present, Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport is still constantly exploring more convenient and smarter models, closely integrating smart construction with security services, passenger travel, portrait recognition, self-service check-in, self-service baggage check, visualization of flight guarantees, smart production scheduling... …Not only creates a civilized, convenient and comfortable travel environment for passengers, but also becomes a window connecting Lanzhou with the world.
By 2019, Zhongchuan Airport will open new international charter flights to Yangon, Nha Trang, and Moscow, and open regular international flights to Phuket, Westport, Singapore, Da Lat, Pattaya, Mandalay, Naypyidaw, and Osaka. Up to 20 international navigation points have been opened, 20 international routes have been implemented, and new breakthroughs have been achieved in the construction of international route networks.
In recent years, Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport, as an important gateway airport opening to the west and a new window for Gansu’s opening to the outside world, has played an increasingly important “engine” role in serving the country’s “Belt and Road” construction. (Finish)