Shanghai Pudong International Airport

Shanghai Pudong International Airport (IATA: PVG, ICAO: ZSPD) is one of the two international airports serving Shanghai, China.
Pudong Airport serves both international flights and a smaller number of domestic flights, while the city's other major airport, Shanghai–Hongqiao, mainly serves domestic and regional flights in East Asia. Located about 30 km (19 mi) east of the city center, Pudong Airport occupies a 40-square-kilometre (10,000-acre) site adjacent to the coastline in eastern Pudong. The airport is operated by Shanghai Airport Authority.
The airport is the main hub for China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines, and a major international hub for Air China, as well as a secondary hub for China Southern Airlines. It is also the hub for privately owned Juneyao Air and Spring Airlines, and an Asia-Pacific cargo hub for FedEx, UPS and DHL. The DHL hub, opened in July 2012, is reportedly the largest express hub in Asia.
Pudong Airport had two main passenger terminals, flanked on both sides by four operational parallel runways. A third passenger terminal was started in 2021, in addition to a satellite terminal and two additional runways, which will raise its annual capacity from 60 million passengers to 80 million, along with the ability to handle six million tons of freight.
Pudong Airport is a fast-growing hub for both passenger and cargo traffic. With 3,440,084 metric tons handled in 2024, the airport is the world's third-busiest airport by cargo traffic. Pudong Airport also served a total of 54,476,397 passengers in 2023, making it the second-busiest airport in China after Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, sixth-busiest in Asia, and the twenty-first-busiest in the world. It is also the busiest international gateway of mainland China, with 35.25 million international passengers.
Shanghai Pudong is the busiest international hub in China, and about half of its total passenger traffic is international. Pudong Airport is connected to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport by Shanghai Metro Line 2 and the Shanghai Maglev Train via Pudong International Airport Station. There are also airport buses connecting it with the rest of the city.
Prior to the establishment of Pudong International Airport, Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport was the only primary airport of Shanghai. During the 1990s, the expansion of Hongqiao Airport to meet growing demand became impossible as the surrounding urban area was developing significantly, and an alternative to assume all international flights had to be sought.
After deliberation, the municipal government decided to adopt the suggestion from Professor Chen Jiyu of East China Normal University, who wrote a letter to the Mayor of Shanghai Xu Kuangdi suggesting that the new airport should be constructed on the tidal flats of the south bank of the Yangtze River estuary, on the coast of the Pudong development zone to the east of Shanghai.
Construction of the first phase of the new Shanghai Pudong International Airport began in October 1997, took two years to build at a cost of RMB 12 billion (US$1.67 billion), and was completed on 16 September 1999. It covers an area of 40 square kilometres (15 sq mi) and is 30 kilometres (19 mi) from downtown Shanghai. The first phase of the airport has one 4E category runway (4,000 by 60 metres [13,123 ft × 197 ft]) along with two parallel taxiways, an 800,000-square-metre (8,600,000 sq ft) apron, seventy-six aircraft positions and a 50,000-square-metre (540,000 sq ft) cargo warehouse.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport was officially opened on 1 October 1999.
A second runway was opened on 17 March 2005, and construction of phase two (including a second terminal, a third runway and a cargo terminal) began in December 2005 and started operation on 26 March 2008, in time for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics.
In November 2011, Pudong Airport received approval from the national government for a new round of expansion which includes two runways. The 3,800-metre (12,467 ft) fourth runway, along with an auxiliary taxiway and traffic control facilities, is projected to cost 2.58 billion yuan (US$403 million). The 3,400-metre (11,155 ft) fifth runway, along with a new traffic tower, will cost 4.65 billion yuan (US$726.6 million). Construction was completed in 2015 and has doubled the capacity of the airport.
Pudong International Airport officially started the third phase of the Pudong International Airport expansion with the construction on a new south satellite terminal on 29 December 2015. The new satellite terminal will be the world's largest single satellite terminal with a total construction area of 622,000 square metres (6,700,000 sq ft), which is larger than the Pudong International Airport T2 terminal building (485,500 square metres [5,226,000 sq ft]). The satellite terminal is composed of two halls, S1 and S2, forming an H-shaped structure. It will have an annual design capacity of 38 million passengers, The total cost of the project is estimated to be about 20.6 billion yuan. Halls S1 and S2 will have 83 gates. A high capacity people mover connecting T1 to S1 and T2 to S2 will be constructed. After the completion of the satellite terminal in 2019, Pudong International Airport will have an annual passenger capacity of 80 million passengers, ranking among the top ten airports in the world by capacity.
As of October 2019, the satellite terminal is in operation and connected by people movers to the main Terminals 1 and 2.
By 6 January 2021, work on Pudong Airport T3 began on the south side of the airfield. The new terminal is anticipated to serve 50 million annual passengers when it opens according to city officials, while the entire airport is expected to have 130 million passengers by 2030. Several public transport lines will be extended to T3.
The airport has 162 boarding bridges (T1-31 T2-41 Satellite terminal-90) along with 189 remote gates. Four runways are parallel to the terminals (four operational): one 4,000-metre (13,000 ft) runway with 4E rating (capable of accommodating aircraft up to Boeing 747-400), two 3,800-metre (12,500 ft) runways with 4F rating (capable of accommodating aircraft up to Airbus A380, Boeing 747-8, and Antonov An-225), and two 3,400-metre (11,200 ft) runways with 4F rating .
Pudong airport currently has four runways. Rwy 35L/17R and Rwy 34R/16L are mostly used for landing while Rwy 35R/17L and Rwy 34L/16R are mostly used for takeoff. Runway 15/33 is not in operation.
Terminal 1 was opened to public and officially opened on 1 October 1999 along with a 4,000-metre (13,000 ft) runway and a cargo hub. It was built to handle the demand for traffic and to relieve Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport's traffic. The exterior of Terminal 1 is shaped like a seagull, and has 28 gates, 13 of which are double-decker gates. The capacity of Terminal 1 is 20 million passengers. It currently has 204 check-in counters, thirteen luggage conveying belts and covers an area of 280,000 square metres (3,000,000 sq ft).
The gates for Terminal 1 is 1–12, 14–32 (linked with jetway), while the remote gates are 200–203, 251–258 (Domestic), 208–212, 213–216 (International).
Terminal 2 was officially opened to the public on 26 March 2008 along with the third runway, making the entire airport capable of handling 60 million passengers and 4.2 million tons of cargo annually. Terminal 2 is shaped like Terminal 1, although it more closely resembles a wave, and is slightly larger than Terminal 1. Terminal 2 also has more floor areas than Terminal 1. Terminal 2 is primarily used by Air China and other Star Alliance members.
The gates for Terminal 2 are 50–98 (Note that gates 58–90 are used as both the C gates (used for domestic flights) and the D gates (used for international flights). The gates between gates 65–79 are only odd numbered (65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79). Gates 50–57 and gates 92–98 are used for domestic flights only. The remote gates for Terminal 2 are C219-C224 for domestic and D228-D232 for international.
Construction on an additional satellite concourse facility that could accommodate further gates and terminal space started on 29 December 2015 and officially opened in September 2019. It is the largest stand-alone satellite airport terminal buildings in the world at 622,000 square metres (6,700,000 sq ft). This project will support 38 million passengers annually through 90 departure gates across two S1 and S2 concourses. Gates for domestic flights are labelled H, while the gates for international flights and flights to Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan are labelled G in both satellite concourses.
Both S1 and S2 are connected together and are since the opening in September 2019 connected by an 7.8-kilometre (5 mi) underground Shanghai Pudong Airport APM to the current T1 and T2 terminals operated by Shanghai Keolis for 20 years, including the East Line and the West Line. The operating section of the East Line is 1.65 kilometres (1.03 mi) long, connecting Terminal 2 and Satellite 2, and the operating section of the West Line is 1.86 kilometres (1.16 mi) long, connecting Terminal 1 and Satellite 1.
Gates that can accommodate the A380/B747-8 are 24 (T1) 71,75 (T2) 119,121 (S1) 504-507 (remote stands near S1, on taxiway L02, between taxiway P3 and south of P2) 168, 170, 173 (S2).
The airport has been using the Airport Collaborative Decision Making system (A-CDM) developed by the aviation data service company VariFlight since January 2017. The system is aimed to improve on-time performance and safety of the airport's operations. By June 2017, Shanghai Pudong airport recorded 62.7% punctuality rate, which was a 15% increase compared to the same period previous year.
Pudong Airport mainly serves international flights along with flights to Baotou, Changchun, Dalian, Zhangjiajie and some smaller cities while most domestic flights are operating at Hongqiao Airport. However, some domestic flights operating at Hongqiao Airport only may move to Pudong Airport operating only at Pudong Airport instead of both.
All cars are equipped with racks and space designated for luggage.
Prices and speeds are substantially lower than the Maglev. A casual ride to People's Square, the city center, typically takes just over one hour, while a trip to Hongqiao International Airport takes about 1.5 hour.
As this line belongs to the suburban railway system, the fare is different compare with metro lines.
The airport will be directly linked to Shanghai East railway station in 2027.
Eight airport bus lines serve the airport, providing rapid links to various destinations.