Ürümqi Tianshan International Airport

Ürümqi Tianshan International Airport (IATA: URC, ICAO: ZWWW) is an international airport serving Ürümqi, the capital of Northwest China‘s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.^[4] It is located in the Diwopu township of Xinshi district, 16 km (9.9 mi) northwest of downtown Ürümqi. As a hub for China Southern Airlines and as a focus city for Hainan Airlines, the airport handled 23,027,788 passengers in 2018, making it the 19th busiest airport in China by passenger traffic.^[5]

Ürümqi Tianshan International Airport 乌鲁木齐天山国际机场 ئۈرۈمچى تىيانشان‎ خەلقئارا ئايروپورتى‎‎
View of Terminal 2 in 2023
IATA: URC ICAO: ZWWW
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Xinjiang Airport Group Co. Ltd.
Serves	Ürümqi
Location	Diwopu, Xinshi, Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China
Opened	1973; 52 years ago (1973)
Hub for	China Southern Airlines Urumqi Air
Focus city for	Hainan Airlines
Elevation AMSL	648 m / 2,126 ft
Coordinates	43°54′26″N 87°28′27″E
Website	www.xjairport.com
Map
URC/ZWWW Location in Xinjiang Show map of Xinjiang URC/ZWWW Location in China Show map of China
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 07/25 3,600 11,811 Concrete
Statistics (2023[1])
Passengers 25,088,961 Aircraft movements 176,801 Cargo (metric tons) 155,133.0
Source: DAFIF[2][3] Source: List of the busiest airports in China

Ürümqi Tianshan International Airport
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	乌鲁木齐天山国际机场
Traditional Chinese	烏魯木齊天山國際機場
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wūlǔmùqí Tiānshān Guójìjīchǎng Wade–Giles U-lu-mu-chi Ti-wo-pʻu Kuo-chi-chi-chʻang other Mandarin Xiao'erjing ءُلُمُٿِ دِوَعپُ قُوَعکِ كِچْا
Uyghur name
Uyghur	ئۈرۈمچى تىيانشان‎ خەلقئارا ئايروپورتى‎‎‎
Transcriptions Latin Yëziqi Ürümchi Tianshan Xelqara Ayroporti Yengi Yeziⱪ Ürümqi Tianshan Həlⱪ’ara Ayroporti Siril Yëziqi Үрүмчи уйғурчә Хәлқара Айропорти

History

Urumqi Airport was opened to foreign passengers in 1973,^[6] and has been used for emergency landings for flights between Europe and west Asia. It has been renamed from Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport to Ürümqi Tianshan International Airport in March 2025.^[7][4]

Facilities

The airport covers an area of 484 hectares (1,200 acres). Its newly built runway is 3,600 m (11,800 ft) in length. The airport can allow the landing of large aircraft such as the Boeing 747. The 110,000 m² (1,200,000 sq ft) apron can accommodate over 30 aircraft.^{[citation needed]}

Runways

• The first runway (07/25) was built in 1994 to accept the expansion, the flight zone level 4E, runway length 3,600 meters (11,811 ft), 45 meters (148 ft) wide, PCN value of 74, elevation 648 meters, with Class II precision approach.
• The second runway (???): under construction, located to the north of the current runway, flight zone level 4F, runway length 3,600 meters (11,811 ft), 60 meters (197 ft) wide.
• The third runway (???): under construction, located to the north of the current runway, flight zone level 4F, runway 3,200 meters (10,499 ft) long, 60 meters (197 ft) wide.

Terminals

Terminal 1

The original terminal opened in 1974. It was closed between April 23, 2011, and August 30, 2013, for renovation.^[8] On April 1, 2014, operations were resumed.^[9] After the transformation of the T1 terminal has six security channels, 19 check-in counters, with the peak hourly 700 times the business capacity.^{[clarification needed][10]} This terminal is mainly for regional aviation around Xinjiang province and low-cost aviation use, including Tianjin Airlines, Capital Aviation, Spring Airlines, Yunnan Xiangpeng Airlines, China United Airlines, Okay Airways, Ryanair^[11] and Western Airlines.^[12]

Terminal 2

Construction on this terminal started in April 1994, was completed in December 2001 through the national acceptance, and on May 12, 2002, the terminal opened. On July 10, 2010, it closed for a renovation project, and resumed operations on April 16, 2011.^[13] It serves most domestic routes outside of Xinjiang province, except for China Southern, Xiamen and Chongqing Airlines flights.

Terminal 2 gallery

• 
  Waiting hall
• 
  Arrival tunnel
• 
  Waiting hall towards Terminal 3
• 
  Terminal 2 exterior

Terminal 3

Construction of Terminal 3 to the west of the older terminal building began in April 2007 at a cost of 2.8 billion yuan (350 million U.S. dollars). It increased Diwopu's ability to handle more than three times its 2007 capacity of 5.13 million passengers annually to 16.35 million passengers annually. It can also handle 275,000 tons of cargo and 155,000 aircraft a year. Terminal 3 added 22 more jet bridges and nearly 106,000 square meters of new terminal space.^[14] The terminal opened in 2009.

Terminal 3 gallery

• 
  Terminal 3 exterior
• 
  Check-in zone B
• 
  Check-in zone C
• 
  Boarding gate
• 
  Terminal 3 entrance

Terminal 4

Terminal 4 in September 2023

An expansion project, which began in 2017, is underway and will see a new terminal building covering almost 400,000 sq meters consisting of 177 gates, as well as two additional runways north of the existing.^[15][16] Originally set to open in 2024, the date was pushed backed to 17 April 2025 due to many aspects of the terminal being unfinished. After the opening of T4, the previous three terminals will be converted to cargo relay stations as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations
9 Air	Guangzhou, Jiayuguan,[17] Zhongwei
Air Astana	Almaty
Air China	Aksu, Beijing–Capital, Chengdu–Shuangliu, Chengdu–Tianfu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Hotan, Kashgar, Moscow–Sheremetyevo,[18] Shanghai–Pudong, Tbilisi,[19] Tianjin, Wuhan, Xining, Yining, Yuncheng Seasonal: Jeddah, Medina
Ariana Afghan Airlines	Seasonal: Kabul
Beijing Capital Airlines	Beijing–Daxing, Hangzhou, Nanjing,[20] Xiamen, Zhengzhou
Belavia	Minsk[21]
Cathay Pacific	Hong Kong (begins 28 April 2025)[22]
Chengdu Airlines	Chengdu–Shuangliu,[23] Kashgar[24]
China Eastern Airlines	Beijing–Daxing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Hefei, Kashgar, Kunming, Nanjing, Shanghai–Hongqiao, Shanghai–Pudong, Shiyan, Taiyuan, Wuhan, Wuxi, Xi'an
China Express Airlines	Chongqing
China Southern Airlines	Aksu, Almaty, Altay, Ashgabat, Astana,[25] Baku,[25] Beijing–Daxing, Bishkek, Bole, Changchun, Changsha, Chengdu–Tianfu,[26] Chongqing, Dalian, Dushanbe, Fuyun, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Guiyang, Haikou, Hangzhou, Hefei, Hohhot, Hong Kong,[27] Hotan, Islamabad, Istanbul,[28] Jinan, Kanas, Karamay, Kashgar, Korla, Kuala Lumpur–International,[29] Kunming, Kuqa, Lanzhou, Moscow–Sheremetyevo, Nanjing, Nanning, Nanyang, Qingdao, Sanya, Shache, Shanghai–Hongqiao, Shanghai–Pudong, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Tacheng, Tashkent, Tashkurgan, Tbilisi, Tehran–Imam Khomeini, Tianjin, Tumxuk, Wenzhou, Wuhan, Xiamen, Xi'an, Yerevan,[30] Yining, Yiwu, Yutian, Zhengzhou, Zhuhai
China United Airlines	Beijing–Daxing[31]
Chongqing Airlines	Chongqing
FlyArystan	Astana (resumes 12 April 2025)[32]
GX Airlines	Fuyang,[33] Haikou,[33] Yichang
Hainan Airlines	Beijing–Capital, Changsha, Chengdu–Shuangliu, Chengdu–Tianfu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Haikou, Hangzhou, Hohhot, Hotan,[34] Jinan, Kashgar, Kuqa, Lanzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo,[35] Sanya, Shanghai–Hongqiao, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Shijiazhuang,[36] Taiyuan, Wenzhou, Wuhan, Xiamen, Xi'an, Zhengzhou, Zhuhai[37]
Hebei Airlines	Shijiazhuang
Hong Kong Airlines	Hong Kong[27]
Jiangxi Air	Nanchang, Xi'an
Juneyao Air	Shanghai–Hongqiao, Shanghai–Pudong
Korean Air	Seasonal: Seoul–Incheon
Loong Air	Hangzhou, Xuzhou,[38] Yinchuan
Lucky Air	Chengdu–Tianfu, Kashgar, Kunming, Ngari–Gunsa, Zhengzhou[39]
Okay Airways	Changsha, Tianjin,[40] Xi'an, Yinchuan[40]
Qingdao Airlines	Lanzhou, Qingdao
SCAT Airlines	Shymkent (begins 30 May 2025)[41]
Shandong Airlines	Aksu, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Hohhot,[42] Hotan, Jinan, Kashgar, Kunming, Lanzhou, Nanjing, Osaka–Kansai, Qingdao, Taiyuan, Xiamen, Yinchuan
Shanghai Airlines	Chengdu–Tianfu,[43] Hotan, Shanghai–Hongqiao, Shanghai–Pudong, Zhengzhou
Shenzhen Airlines	Korla, Lanzhou, Shenzhen
Sichuan Airlines	Beihai, Beijing–Capital, Chengdu–Shuangliu, Chengdu–Tianfu, Chongqing, Guangyuan, Hangzhou, Jieyang, Kashgar, Kunming, Lanzhou, Lhasa, Luzhou, Mianyang, Nanning, Sanya, Shanghai–Pudong,[44] Sydney, Xi'an, Xining, Yibin, Zhengzhou
Somon Air	Dushanbe, Khujand[45]
Spring Airlines	Lanzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai–Hongqiao, Shijiazhuang, Xi'an, Yangzhou
Suparna Airlines	Linfen,[46] Shenzhen[46]
Tianjin Airlines	Aksu, Altay, Aral,[47] Beihai,[48] Bole, Changsha, Chengdu–Tianfu,[47] Chongqing, Fuyun,[47] Guiyang,[47] Hami, Hangzhou, Hotan, Kashgar, Korla, Kuqa, Nalati, Qingdao,[49] Ruoqiang,[47] Sanya, Tacheng, Tianjin, Wanzhou,[50] Wuhan, Xi'an, Yancheng,[47] Yining, Zhengzhou
Urumqi Air	Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Changsha, Chengdu–Tianfu,[51] Fuzhou, Guangzhou,[52] Haikou, Hangzhou,[52] Hanzhong,[52] Hong Kong,[52] Hotan, Huai'an,[53] Kashgar, Lanzhou, Longnan, Luoyang,[54] Luzhou,[55] Mianyang, Nanchong, Nanjing, Nanning,[55] Qingyang,[56] Quanzhou, Shanghai–Pudong,[52] Wenzhou, Wuhan, Yangzhou,[57] Yulin (Shaanxi),[58] Yutian, Zhanjiang,[51] Zhengzhou
Uzbekistan Airways	Fergana (begins 5 April 2025),[59] Tashkent
West Air	Chongqing, Zhengzhou
XiamenAir	Beijing–Daxing, Changsha, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Jinan, Quanzhou, Tianjin, Wuhan, Xiamen, Yinchuan, Zhengzhou

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
ASL Airlines Belgium	Liège
Ethiopian Airlines Cargo	Addis Ababa[60]
My Freighter	Tashkent
SF Airlines	Tbilisi[61]
Silk Way Airlines	Baku
Turkmenistan Airlines Cargo	Ashgabat
Uzbekistan Airways Cargo	Ostrava
YTO Cargo Airlines	Hangzhou, Islamabad,[62] Moscow–Sheremetyevo

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at URC airport. See Wikidata query.

Other facilities

When the airline existed, China Xinjiang Airlines had its headquarters on the airport property.^[63]

Ground Transport

International Airport station on Line 1 of Ürümqi Metro opened on 25 October 2018 and links the airport to downtown Ürümqi. In addition, two more metro stations, Terminal T4 and Airport East stations, are expected to open on 17 April 2025.

See also

• China portal
• Aviation portal

• List of airports in China
• China's busiest airports by passenger traffic