Xinjiang's densely-woven air route network will reach 37 civilian airports by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan
Economic Daily News from Urumqi (Reporter Ma Chengzhong) "Now it is fast and convenient whether it is flying from Tumshuk to other prefectures in Xinjiang, or to cities such as Xi'an and Guangzhou." This year, Li Yun, a citizen of Tumshuk, took the opportunity to fly. Traveling to Xi'an, I am deeply touched by the changes in air traffic.
With the opening of local airports to Beijing and Shanghai, she is planning to fly to new tourist destinations.
Li Yun's third division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Tumshuk, is adjacent to the Taklimakan Desert to the east, to the Pamirs to the west, Tianshan Mountains to the north, and Karakorum Mountains to the south.
In the past, road traffic was the mainstay, and it was difficult for local people to travel.
In recent years, as airports and railway stations have been put into use one after another, travel has become more convenient and faster.
Currently, 22 civil airports have been built and put into operation in Xinjiang, 3 new airports are being built, and 5 airports are being rebuilt and expanded.
"According to the autonomous region's deployment of'inner Xinjiang, getting in and out of Xinjiang quickly', Xinjiang strives to build an international aviation hub in Urumqi, speeds up weaving branch routes, cross-flights and direct flights to the mainland, and initially formed the'internet and east-west routes in Xinjiang'. "Fan, the combination of trunk and branch, the simultaneous development of passenger and cargo, connecting Europe and Asia's route network." said Zhang Tingyao, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Xinjiang Administration of Civil Aviation of China.
During the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" period, Xinjiang has continuously woven its airline network.
In the domestic aviation market, the number of Xinjiang-related routes has increased from 163 to 276, and the number of navigation points has increased from 70 to 95, basically realizing "the inner region of Xinjiang is looped, and the in and out of Xinjiang become faster."
Regarding the international aviation market, at the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, Xinjiang Civil Aviation opened 26 international and regional passenger routes, and Urumqi became open to 18 countries, 24 international cities, and 1 regional city.
In the first ten months of this year, Xinjiang Civil Aviation carried 24.498 million passengers, a year-on-year increase of 61.2%, and cargo and mail transportation was 152,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 19.4%. The two data were restored to 75.6% and 86.7% in the same period in 2019.
In addition, the pace of airport construction has accelerated significantly, and the preliminary work of Bayinbulak, Zhundong, and Barkol airports has accelerated, and construction is expected to start in the near future.
Zhang Tingyao said that in the next step, Xinjiang will open more cross-flight, circumnavigation, and direct flights to consolidate the effect of “internally looping Xinjiang and getting in and out of Xinjiang faster” and provide the masses with more high-quality and rich aviation travel options.
By the end of the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the number of civil transportation airports in Xinjiang will reach 37, and the efficiency of air transportation in remote areas will be further improved.