End of an era in civil aviation as China’s first airport closes
- China United Airlines, Nanyuan airport’s main carrier, transfers the last of its Nanyuan-based flights to Daxing
As the first flights left the 80 billion yuan (US$11 billion) Beijing Daxing International Airport under an intense media spotlight on Wednesday, the historic facility it was replacing, Beijing Nanyuan Airport, was quietly closing to civil aviation.
Built in 1910 during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), China’s first airport ceased to be a civil aviation facility at 11.21pm that day when China United Airlines – the airport’s main carrier – transferred the last of its Nanyuan-based flights to Daxing.
Lu Haibin, the pilot for the flight and the general manager of the carrier’s flying department, told China News Service that he was very emotional about saying goodbye to Nanyuan but also looking forward to relocating to the new, hi-tech Daxing airport, about 65km (40 miles) south of Beijing Capital International Airport.
“I cherished the memories here but I am looking forward to the move to the Daxing airport,” Lu said. “I will make my contributions in the grand new international airport.
“This flight means our airline’s transfer to Daxing has been completed and our operation in Nanyuan has come to an end.”
Small as it is, the Nanyuan airport played a vital role in China’s aviation industry.
It sprang from a clearing that had been the imperial hunting ground. Its potential to become an airport was on display in 1904, when it was used for an air show put on by French fliers.