China plans to increase the number of its airports almost twice by 2035 when it is expected that the country will become the world leader in air transport ahead of the United States.
China is preparing to build another 216 airports in addition to the 234 already operating, according to the Civil Aviation Administration.
In 2035, the demand for air passenger services in China will be a quarter of the world’s total and will exceed demand in the United States.
Last year, Chinese airports served 552 million passengers, and in 2020 their number should reach 720 million. This growth urges the government to develop new infrastructure.
“Service has improved, but today airports are far from meeting the needs and are unevenly distributed in the country”, said the experts from the China Civil Aviation Administration.
Currently, the world’s busiest airport continues to be in Dubai, which is a crossroads of air routes between Europe and Asia.
In 2017, the terminals of Dubai International Airport managed 88.2 million passengers, compared with 83.6 million in the previous year. This is an increase of 5.5% and is “an improved record for the fourth consecutive year”, said Dubai Airlines.
