# Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport

Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport (IATA: SWA, ICAO: ZGOW) is an international airport serving the cities of Jieyang, Shantou and Chaozhou in South Central China‘s Guangdong province. It is located in the towns of Paotai and Denggang in Jiedong District, Jieyang, Guangdong. It was part of a relocation plan from the original Shantou Waisha Airport, and the site was chosen to be near the geographic center of Jieyang, Shantou, and Chaozhou. The airport was put into service on 15 December 2011, with the simultaneous shut-down of Shantou Waisha Airport as a commercial airport.
According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, in 2024, Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport recorded 70,498 flight takeoffs and landings, and 8.666 million passenger movements, representing a year-on-year increases of 16.2% and 20.7% respectively.

## History

The city of Shantou was formerly served by Shantou Waisha Airport, a dual-use military and civil airport. Construction of Jieyang Chaoshan Airport began on 16 June 2009 with a total investment of 3.8 billion yuan. In November 2011, the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection halted the construction of the airport due to unauthorized deviations from the approved environmental impact report. The airport authorities submitted a revised environmental impact report, which gained approval from the ministry. Jieyang Chaoshan Airport was opened on 15 December 2011, when all civil flights were transferred from the old Waisha Airport, which remains in use as a military air base. On 10 July 2014, the Chinese government officially gave the airport international status, after having operated international flights for a number of years already.

## Terminals

The airport covers an area of 113,000 square metres (1,220,000 square feet) after the completion of a terminal expansion project in December 2022, doubling the airport terminal area through the additional of a second terminal wing. This upgrade allowed for the terminal design capacity to increase from 4.5 million to 14.5 million passengers annually. A previous airport expansion extended the length of the runway from 2,800 to 3,200 metres (9,200 to 10,500 ft) in order to upgrade it to a code 4E runway.
The passenger terminal has 26 jetways with 22 allocated to domestic flights, two allocated to international flights and two dual-use jetways.
A second check-in terminal is available outside Shantou Railway Station.

## Airlines and destinations
### Passenger

| Airlines | Destinations |
| AirAsia | Kuala Lumpur–International |
| Air China | Beijing–Capital, Beijing–Daxing, Chengdu–Tianfu, Hangzhou |
| Beijing Capital Airlines | Lijiang, Nanjing, Nanning |
| Chengdu Airlines | Chengdu–Tianfu, Dazhou, Shaoguan |
| China Eastern Airlines | Guilin, Harbin, Hefei, Hengyang, Kunming, Nanjing, Ningbo, Qingdao, Shanghai–Hongqiao, Shanghai–Pudong, Taiyuan, Wenzhou, Wuhan, Wuxi, Xi'an, Yantai, Zhanjiang |
| China Express Airlines | Chongqing, Shaoguan, Wuhu, Zhanjiang |
| China Southern Airlines | Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Beijing–Daxing, Changchun, Changsha, Changzhou, Chengdu–Tianfu, Chongqing, Dalian, Guangzhou, Guiyang, Haikou, Hangzhou, Huai'an, Jinan, Jinggangshan, Kunming, Linyi, Luzhou, Nanjing, Nantong, Nanyang, Ningbo, Qingdao, Shanghai–Pudong, Taiyuan, Taizhou, Tianjin, Wuhan, Xi'an, Xuzhou, Yichang, Yiwu, Zhengzhou, Zhoushan |
| China United Airlines | Beijing–Daxing |
| Chongqing Airlines | Chongqing, Zhengzhou |
| Colorful Guizhou Airlines | Guiyang |
| Hainan Airlines | Haikou, Hangzhou |
| Okay Airways | Changsha, Chongqing |
| Qingdao Airlines | Changchun, Zhengzhou |
| Scoot | Singapore |
| Shandong Airlines | Changsha, Jinan, Wuhan |
| Shanghai Airlines | Changchun, Kunming, Nanjing, Shanghai–Hongqiao, Shanghai–Pudong, Zhengzhou, Zhoushan |
| Sichuan Airlines | Chengdu–Shuangliu, Chengdu–Tianfu, Chongqing, Harbin, Jinan, Ürümqi, Yibin |
| Spring Airlines | Bangkok–Don Mueang, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi (resumes 30 March 2025), Changchun, Changsha, Changzhou, Dalian, Hangzhou, Harbin, Hefei, Lanzhou, Nanchang, Nanjing, Ningbo, Qionghai, Shanghai–Hongqiao, Shanghai–Pudong, Shenyang, Shijiazhuang, Xi'an, Yangzhou, Yinchuan, Zhanjiang |
| Tianjin Airlines | Chongqing, Guiyang, Haikou, Mianyang |
| West Air | Chongqing, Zhengzhou |

## Ground transportation

The airport is served by the adjacent Jieyang Airport railway station. A station will also be constructed at the airport as part of the East Guangdong Intercity Railway with construction expected to be completed in 2027.

## Statistics

Jieyang Chaoshan Airport is among the 50 busiest passenger airports in China.
| Year | Passenger movements | Change |
| 2023 | 7,182,236 | 102.3% |
| 2022 | 3,550,722 | 38.1% |
| 2021 | 5,734,175 | 8.5% |
| 2020 | 5,285,718 | 28.1% |
| 2019 | 7,353,521 | 13.2% |
| 2018 | 6,493,930 | 44.8% |
| 2017 | 4,485,000 | 17.5% |
| 2016 | 3,818,000 | 19.2% |
| 2015 | 3,204,300 | 11.6% |
| 2014 | 2,870,252 | 6.9% |
| 2013 | 2,686,007 | 27.7% |
| 2012 | 2,103,303 | 10.6% |