Yibin Wuliangye Airport Is About To Open, Driving The Development Of The Liquor Industry And Tourism

On the morning of December 2nd, a press conference on the opening of Yibin Wuliangye Airport was held in Chengdu. The reporter learned that the newly built Yibin Wuliangye Airport will officially open on December 5th.

Yibin Wuliangye Airport Navigation Press Conference Photo Source: Photo taken by journalist Jin Hengping

In fact, the degree of economic development in a region is generally proportional to the strength of airport navigation capacity. The opening of Yibin Wuliangye Airport will undoubtedly further expand the scope of transportation radiation services in Yibin, enhance transportation efficiency and security capabilities. Peng Bing, Chairman of Yibin Airport Co., Ltd., stated in an interview with the Daily Economic News that in addition to the existing 19 major domestic flights, the airport will also negotiate with airlines and local governments to increase the number of navigable cities or increase the density of existing routes.

Yibin Wuliangye Airport is about to open for navigation

Yibin Wuliangye Airport was relocated from Yibin Caiba Airport and is located in Zongchang Town, Cuiping District, Yibin City. According to the relevant person in charge of Yibin City, the construction of Yibin Wuliangye Airport officially began in October 2016 and was completed in September 2019, taking nearly three years. Yibin Wuliangye Airport is approximately 11 kilometers away from the central urban area of Yibin and is a 4C level civil aviation airport with a total investment of approximately 2.927 billion yuan.

The original Caiba Airport in Yibin has been operating safely for 27 years and has opened flights to and from 19 major cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. With the operation of the new airport, all flight routes opened at the original Caiba Airport in Yibin will be transferred to the new airport for execution.

"After 24:00 on December 4th, the civil facilities of Yibin Caiba Airport will be permanently closed and will no longer accept flights for takeoff and landing," the person in charge explained.

The Daily Economic News reporter noticed that the annual passenger throughput of Yibin Caiba Airport has exceeded 1 million, reaching the upper limit of its support capacity. After the operation of Yibin Wuliangye Airport, the airport route network will be further improved. It is expected that there will be 40 navigable cities from 2020 to 2021, and no less than 50 navigable cities from 2022 to 2024, with an annual passenger throughput exceeding 2.5 million.

"The timely opening of Yibin Wuliangye Airport is a major event for the development of civil aviation in Yibin city and even the whole country. Yibin Wuliangye Airport is the largest regional airport in the Sichuan Yunnan Guizhou junction, and will comprehensively enhance Yibin's air economic corridor, making significant contributions to accelerating the construction of the provincial economic sub center." The relevant person in charge of Yibin city said.

Drive the development of the liquor industry and tourism

Yibin Wuliangye Airport is the second airport in China named after the Baijiu brand after Zunyi Maotai Airport.

However, the Daily Economic News reporter noticed that as the operating entity of Yibin Wuliangye Airport, there is no presence of Wuliangye Company among the shareholders of Yibin Airport Co., Ltd. According to Qixinbao data, Yibin City and Transportation Investment Group Co., Ltd. holds a 75% stake, with the remaining 25% held by China Agricultural Development Key Construction Fund Co., Ltd.

The location of Yibin Wuliangye Airport in Zongchang Town has not been optimized or expanded in the original Yibin Caiba Airport. Regarding this, Peng Bing told a reporter from the Daily Economic News that the original design standardization of Caiba Airport is not as high as it is now, and from the perspective of flight safety, the number of flights cannot achieve a rapid increase due to industry regulations.

Peng Bing added that the site selection of Yibin Caiba Airport has had an impact on the economic development of the city to a certain extent. Due to factors such as high flight restrictions, it has constrained the development of the city, especially in the Minjiang New Area. The current location of Yibin Wuliangye Airport has a higher altitude than Caiba Airport, and the length and thickness of the airport runway have greatly improved compared to Caiba Airport.

Peng Bing predicts that with the opening of the new airport, the future flight volume in Yibin will experience explosive development. In addition to the existing 19 major domestic flights, the airport will also negotiate with airlines and local governments to increase the number of navigable cities or increase the density of existing routes. "According to the plan, when the season changes on March 28th next year, we will also vigorously increase the number of routes. As for which airline has the highest proportion of flight time resources, it is not yet clear," Peng Bing said.

In fact, with the operation of Wuliangye Airport in Yibin, this airport named after Luzhou flavor Baijiu represents Wuliangye will undoubtedly play a role in promoting the development of local tourism and liquor industry.

According to the official website of the People's Government of Yibin City, during this year's National Day holiday, 52 A-level scenic spots in Yibin received a total of 1.947 million visitors and achieved ticket revenue of 18.2838 million yuan. At present, Yibin is building characteristic industries such as Yibin liquor, Yibin bamboo, and Yibin tea.

With the huge radiation effect brought by the aviation economy, the opening of Yibin Wuliangye Airport will effectively graft on the city's advantageous tourism resources, drive tourism related industries such as exhibitions and business conferences, and the supporting infrastructure of the airport is also expected to further accelerate.

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