# Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport

Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport (IATA: LHW, ICAO: ZLLL) is an international airport serving Lanzhou, the capital of Northwest China’s Gansu province. It is located 71 kilometres (44 mi) northwest of downtown Lanzhou. It was opened in 1970 and serves as a major air hub for the province of Gansu and western China. There are eight gates served by aerobridges in the terminal. A new larger (61,000 m$^2$ (660,000 sq ft)) Terminal 2 is located to the South, adjacent to the existing terminal. The new terminal adds nine aerobridges.
Lanzhou Airport is a focus city for China Eastern Airlines and Hainan Airlines. Passenger traffic at Lanzhou Airport in 2024 was over 17 million, ranking 29th in China.

## History

Lanzhou's first airport, Gongxingdun Airport, was located just 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the city centre. By 1957, the Civil Aviation Administration of China decided that Gongxingun Airport's location was too restrictive for the aviation needs of Lanzhou and designated a new site near Zhongchuan town. Due to the geography of Lanzhou, this closest suitable location is 71 km (44 mi) from downtown Lanzhou, which makes it the Chinese airport furthest from the center of the city it serves.
In 1968 construction was started on Lanzhou airport and on July 26, 1970, the maiden flight took place with the first aircraft landing of an Ilyushin Il-14. At the time, the airport handled 5 domestic routes. In 1980, Zhongchuan Airport handled 100,000 passengers annually, growing to 500,000 in 1995. On June 15, 1997, an expansion project was officially started.
In 2001, the current Terminal 1 was put into operation, allowing handling of 2.6 million annual passengers. In 2010, Lanzhou airport's passenger throughput exceeded 3 million people a year and the second expansion project started.
Terminal 2 officially started construction in 2010, after preliminary design approval and with an investment budget of 1.488 billion yuan and a designed passenger capacity of 10 million annually. In 2013, Lanzhou airport's passenger throughput exceeded 5 million passengers per annum, increasing the official Lanzhou airport ranking among the major airports within China. Terminal 2 opened in 2015 and later that year the Lanzhou–Zhongchuan Airport intercity railway between the airport and Lanzhou's urban area opened. By 2019 the Zhongchuan airport handled over 15 million passengers annually.

### Third expansion phase

The third expansion phase started in 2019. At a cost of 31.69 billion Yuan, a new Terminal 3 will be built, two new 4,000 meters (13,000 ft) long runways and facilities will be expanded. Terminal 3 will be four times larger than the current combined terminal floor area.
The entirety of adjacent namesake Zhongchuan town and several villages, totaling 10.7 square kilometres (4.1 sq mi), were demolished to make way for the expansion, and residents were relocated to Lanzhou and Lanzhou New Area. The expansion, including Terminal 3 is to open on 20 March 2025.

### Statistics

Annual passenger and cargo statistics :
| Year | Passengers | Change | Cargo (×1000 tons) | Change |
| 1980 | 100,000 | | | |
| 1995 | 500,000 | | | |
| 1996 | 650,000 | | | |
| 2010 | 3,000,000 | | | |
| 2011 | 3,809,000 | 5.7% | 32 | 4.2% |
| 2012 | 4,584,000 | 20.33% | 36 | 12.22% |
| 2013 | 5,650,000 | 23.26% | 42 | 16.15% |
| 2014 | 6,589,000 | 16.63% | 47 | 12.49% |
| 2015 | 8,009,000 | 21.55% | 50 | 6.66% |
| 2016 | 10,897,000 | 36.1% | 59 | 18.7% |
| 2017 | 12,816,000 | 17.6% | 61 | 2.4% |
| 2018 | 13,858,000 | 8.1% | 61 | 0.9% |
| 2019 | 15,303,000 | 10.4% | 72 | 17.2% |
| 2020 | 11,127,000 | -27.3% | 70 | -2.8% |
| 2021 | 12,171,000 | 9.4% | 73 | 4.5% |
| 2022 | 5,942,000 | -51.2% | 56 | -24.1% |
| 2023 | 15,637,379 | 163.1% | 75.240 | 35.6 % |
| 2024 | 17,001,000 | 8.7% | 86 | 14.3% |

## Terminal complex

The new Terminal 3, which dwarfs the two older terminals is scheduled to handle all flights from 20 March 2025 onwards.

### Terminal 1

Shaped like the letter T, this terminal consisted of eight airbridges. The original terminal had a single airside level for arrivals and departures. Arrivals were segregated by a glass screen from departing passengers. Check-in was handled on the upper level, while the lower level housed the baggage hall.
With the opening of Terminal 2 in 2015, this terminal's landside facilities have been shut down for refurbishment and parts of the terminal will be mothballed until future growth warrants the reopening of these facilities. Airside lounges, gates and shops remain in use.

### Terminal 2

Designed and shaped to resemble the wing of flying geese, at 61,000 m$^2$ (660,000 sq ft), this terminal greatly increased the operational space at Lanzhou Airport. It added an extra two piers to the existing terminal. It houses 30 extra check-in desks, 12 passenger gates, 9 airbridges and separate levels for arriving and departing passengers. The new terminal was opened for travellers in February 2015.

### Terminal 3

Terminal 3 construction preparations started in 2019. It will have a floor area of 400,000 square metres (4,300,000 sq ft), dwarfing T1 and T2. The terminal will have 87 gates, arranged over four piers. It will open on 20 March 2025.
A number of state-of-art IT infrastructures are implemented, including 5G-Advanced network coverage and use of a digital twin to aid operation.

## Airlines and destinations
### Passenger

| Airlines | Destinations |
| 9 Air | Changsha, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huizhou, Jinchang, Zhangjiajie |
| Air China | Aksu, Beijing–Capital, Beijing–Daxing, Chengdu–Shuangliu, Chengdu–Tianfu, Hangzhou, Korla, Shanghai–Pudong, Tianjin, Wuhan Hajj: Jeddah |
| Air Guilin | Guilin, Haikou, Longnan |
| Air Travel | Kunming, Nanchang |
| Beijing Capital Airlines | Haikou, Nanjing, Sanya |
| Chengdu Airlines | Changsha, Chengdu–Tianfu, Jinchang, Qitai, Shache, Zhangye |
| China Eastern Airlines | Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Beijing–Daxing, Changchun, Changsha, Chengdu–Tianfu, Dunhuang, Guangzhou, Guilin, Haikou, Hangzhou, Hefei, Hohhot, Hong Kong, Jiayuguan, Jinan, Kunming, Nagoya–Centrair, Nanchang, Nanjing, Ningbo, Ordos, Qingdao, Shanghai–Hongqiao, Shanghai–Pudong, Shenzhen, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Wuhan, Xiamen, Yantai, Zhengzhou |
| China Express Airlines | Chongqing, Hami |
| China Southern Airlines | Beijing–Daxing, Changchun, Changsha, Guangzhou, Guiyang, Haikou, Hangzhou, Kunming, Shanghai–Pudong, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Ürümqi, Wuhan, Zhuhai |
| China United Airlines | Beijing–Daxing, Yulin (Shaanxi) |
| Donghai Airlines | Qingyang, Shenzhen, Yichang, Zhuhai |
| Fuzhou Airlines | Dazhou, Fuzhou, Kashgar |
| Hainan Airlines | Beijing–Capital, Changsha, Dalian, Guangzhou, Guiyang, Haikou, Hanzhong, Lianyungang, Linfen, Nanchang, Sanya, Shenzhen, Shijiazhuang, Singapore, Taizhou, Tongren, Ürümqi, Xiamen |
| Hebei Airlines | Beijing–Daxing |
| Juneyao Air | Bangkok–Don Mueang, Chizhou, Guiyang, Jinchang, Longnan, Qingyang, Shanghai–Hongqiao, Shanghai–Pudong, Vientiane, Zhangye |
| Loong Air | Enshi, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Jingzhou, Lüliang, Ningbo, Qingyang, Wenzhou, Xiangyang |
| Lucky Air | Kunming |
| Okay Airways | Nanning, Sanya |
| Qingdao Airlines | Changsha, Hotan, Kashgar, Qingdao, Ürümqi |
| Ruili Airlines | Jiayuguan, Kunming, Lijiang, Xishuangbanna |
| Shandong Airlines | Datong, Jinan, Qingdao, Ürümqi, Xiamen, Zhengzhou |
| Shanghai Airlines | Shanghai–Hongqiao, Shanghai–Pudong |
| Shenzhen Airlines | Chengdu–Tianfu, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Zhengzhou, Zunyi–Maotai |
| Sichuan Airlines | Chengdu–Shuangliu, Chengdu–Tianfu, Chongqing, Dunhuang, Guiyang, Hangzhou, Harbin, Jinan, Kunming, Sanya, Taiyuan, Tianjin, Ürümqi |
| Spring Airlines | Aksu, Altay, Ankang, Bangkok–Don Mueang, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Beihai, Changchun, Changsha, Changzhou, Chengdu–Tianfu, Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Guilin, Hangzhou, Harbin, Hohhot, Jieyang, Jinan, Karamay, Kashgar, Korla, Luoyang, Nanchang, Nanyang, Ningbo, Shanghai–Hongqiao, Shanghai–Pudong, Shaoyang, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Shihezi, Shijiazhuang, Tianjin, Ürümqi, Xiamen, Yangzhou, Zunyi–Xinzhou |
| Tianjin Airlines | Qingyang, Tianjin |
| Tibet Airlines | Lhasa |
| Urumqi Air | Changsha, Hong Kong, Hotan, Huai'an, Luzhou, Quanzhou, Ürümqi, Zhengzhou |
| XiamenAir | Changsha, Dalian, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Hengyang, Nanjing, Wanzhou, Wuhan, Xiamen, Zhengzhou |

### Cargo

| Airlines | Destinations |
| SF Airlines | Almaty |
| YTO Cargo Airlines | Lahore |

## Ground transportation connections

The newly opened Terminal 3 is directly connected with a Ground Transportation Center at 5 minutes walking distance, which offers bus and railway connections. A subway station is reserved. The eyecatcher of the Ground Transportation Center is a 2000 m² curved LED display symbolizing 'the water of the Yellow River falling down from the sky'.

### Rail

The Lanzhou–Zhongchuan Airport intercity railway between the airport and the city started operation on 30 September 2015. It provides fast train services between the Zhongchuan Airport railway station and Lanzhou West railway station then continuing to Lanzhou railway station. Travel time to Lanzhou West railway station is 38 minutes. As a pilot project, passenger who have passed the railway security check do not have to pass through security again at the airport. Terminals 1 and 2 are served by Zhongchuan Airport Railway Station, Terminal 3 is served by Zhongchuan Airport Railway East Station.

### Road
#### Shuttle bus

There are three Airport Express Shuttle Bus services available from the airport. All routes cost 30RMB.
* Line 1 runs to the Lanzhou Eastern Hotel, Tianshui Middle Road, opposite Lanzhou University western gate. The return service leaves from opposite the JJ Sun Hotel (next to CAAC Ticket Office), Donggang West Road. Travel time is about one hour, due to the distance of the airport from the city centre. This is the closest service to Lanzhou Railway Station.
* Line 2 runs to Golden Lily Hotel, Xijin East Road, via Taohai Market, Anning West Road. This is the closest service to Lanzhou West Railway Station.
* Line 3 runs to Qingshuiqiao in western Lanzhou.

#### Taxi

Taxi service is relatively expensive due to the long distance to the airport.
| Departure Hall of Lanzhou Airport Terminal 1 | Existing terminal as seen from the south | New terminal at Lanzhou Airport under construction to the immediate south of the existing terminal |