Kunming Changshui Airport: Facts, Code, Terminals & Transportation

Kunming Changshui International Airport (IATA: KMG, ICAO: ZPPP) is a newly built airport in Kunming City, Yunnan Province of People’s Republic of China. It was put to use at 8:00, on June 28, 2012, and is also known as Kunming New Airport. It is expected to be the national gateway airport and air transportation hub of China linking countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia and Europe. The old Kunming Wujiaba International Airport will mainly for military use in the future.

Kunming Changshui Airport is located in the northeast direction of Kunming City, about 24.5 kilometers of straight-line distance from downtown Kunming. The construction site is located at Changshui Village and Huaqing Village at Dabanqiao Street in Guandu District. The project is an investment of over 23 billion RMB. The new airport has 2 parallel runways. The east runway is 4500 meters long and 60 meters wide, and is capable of handling the landing of passenger plane Airbus A380. The west runway is 4000 meters long and 45 meters wide. The airfield was designed according to 4F standard.

Kunming Changshui International Airport is one of the top 100 airports in the world. It is the only national gateway airport in the western China, and is the fourth largest national gateway airport following Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, linking countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia and Europe. The single building area of the terminal ranks the first in Chinese mainland, while the overall floorage ranks the 5th in the world and the 4th in China after Beijing Capital International Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport.

Aim: An international gateway airport of Southwest China, facing Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia, linking China with Europe, Asia and Africa.
Distance from the City Center: about 25 km
Airport Elevation: 2102 meters (201 meters higher than the 1891-meter high major city area of Kunming)
Expected Throughput: 38 million of passenger flow, 950,000 tons of cargo throughput, and 303,000 times of take-off and landing per year. In the long term the passenger flow is expected to reach 80 million.

Chinese Name: 昆明长水国际机场机场
Airport Code: KMG
Website:
Address: near Changshui Village, Guandu District, in the northeastern Kunming City.
Chinese Address: 昆明市官渡区长水村
Telephone: 0871-7116114

Terminals

Kunming Changshui International Airport is scheduled to construct two terminals. At present Terminal 1 has been completed and put to use, and Terminal 2 is expected to be completed by 2020. The following is an introduction of Terminal 1. ?

Changshui Airport Terminal

The terminal covers an area of 159,100 square meters, with a total construction area of 548,300 square meters. There are 3 floors (partially 4 floors) above the ground and 3 floors underground.

The construction of Kunming Changshui International Airport terminal was designed by British architect firm Arup, who also joined in the design and construction of Bird’s Nest and Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport. The airport offers 84 parking bays, 68 of which are near-flight slots. It surpasses Mexico City International Airport and become the fifth largest airport terminal in the world. It is also the largest single-building terminal and the second largest terminal only next to Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport in China. The airport has recently built a 35,000-square-meter freight station and 14,000-square-meter in-flight catering facilities. Some other supporting facilities include facilities for power supply, water supply, heat supply, cooling system, gas supply and treatment of polluted matters and sewage.

Transportation To/From the Airport

Subway Transportation

Both Kunming Subway Line 6 and Kunming Changshui International Airport were put to use on June 28, 2012. The first-stage project of Subway Line 6 connects East Bus Station in the eastern Kunming City area with the underground airport station (at floor 2B of terminal) of Changshui Airport. The first-stage project of Subway Line 6 has 18.018 kilometers of track, among which 7.76 kilometers were constructed underground and 7.633 kilometers were overhead. There are totally 4 stations, including 3 underground stations and 1 overhead station. The service time is from 9:00 to 18:00 every day, with intervals of about 25 minutes. A single ride takes 23 minutes, and the ticket fare is 5 Yuan.

Airport Shuttle Bus

The airport shuttle bus is operated by Yunnan Airport vehicle Transport Service Co. Ltd. affiliated to Yunnan Airport Group Co. Ltd. The buses link the major districts in Kunming city area and Kunming Changshui International Airport.

Routes and Stops

Line 1 (Downtown-West Downtown-Northwest Downtown Line): Xiyi Hotel (Xiaoximen:small west door) - Yunnan University of Nationalities (return trip)-Xiongye Hotel (Beijing Road) (return trip) - Xinying Residential Area (East Renmin Road) - East Bus Station (return trip) - Kunming Changshui International Airport

Line 2 (South Downtown Line): Kunming Wujiaba International Airport - Kunming Railway Station-Rosy Road Century Hotel (South Huancheng Road) (onward trip) - Taili Hotel (South Huancheng Road) (return trip) - Kunming Changshui International Airport

Line 3 (North Downtown Line): Kunming Changshui International Airport - Expo Garden - Beichen Fortune Center (Beichen Avenue) - North Downtown (Linyu Road)

Airport Shuttle Bus Ticket

25 Yuan per ticket. This price is valid temporarily for one year, and the final price is subject to the price approved by Yunnan Province Development and Reform Commission.

Operating Hours

Downtown Kunming to Kunming Changshui International Airport: 05:00-22:00 with intervals of 30 minutes. During rush hours, the buses depart at every 15 minutes.

Kunming Changshui International Airport to Downtown Kunming: 09:00-24:00, with intervals of 30 minutes. The buses depart every 15 minutes during rush hours.

Public Bus Transportation

No. 903: East Bus Station – Intersection of Changhong Road – Danbanqiao Town – Dabanqiao Horticultural Farm - Drug Rehabilitation Center – Women Prison – South Working Area of Changshuo International Airport – Kunming Changshui International Airport

Public Bus Fare:

3 Yuan (self-service ticketing)

Travel Tips

Due to the fact that, Kunming Changshui International Airport is located 24.5 kilometers from Kunming city area, the terminal occupies a much larger area than that in Kunming Wujiaba Airport, and the walking distance from check-in counters to the boarding area is lengthened, please arrange to arrive at the airport earlier in order not to miss your flight. For example, for passengers who plan to take a flight which departs at 8:00 am of June 28, it is suggested that you start off from the city area at 6:00 at the latest.
In order to avoid waiting in queue at the luggage check-in counter, please abide by the rules about luggage specifications. For a one-piece check-in luggage, the weight should not exceed 50 kilograms, and the maximum number of length, width and height is respectively 0.9 meters, 0.5 meters and 0.65 meters, and the minimum number is respectively 0.25 meters, 0.05 meters and 0.02 meters.

Airline Companies

The first batch of the 17 airline companies that settle at the new airport are: China Eastern Yunnan Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Kunming Airlines, Lucky Air, Sichuan Airlines Yunnan Branch, Spring Airlines, Chengdu Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, China West Air, Thai Airways International, Lao Airlines, Korean Air, Dragon Air, Juneyao Airlines, Yingan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Uni Air and Vietnam Airlines.