Initially intended to handle 12 million passengers yearly, Zhuhai (Jinwan) Airport in 2018 became the 35th in China with passenger throughput of more than 10 million and, by 2027, will be able to handle 198,000 flights, 27.5 million passengers, and 104,000 tons of cargo and mail annually.

How it went from being Sanzao Military Airport up to 1992 to being one of only two prefecture-level airports to process 10 million passengers annually began with approval of the State Council and Central Military Commission. Rebuilt in 1995, the airport was the first in China to equip all boarding bridges with a system keeping support vehicles off the apron.

It also was then the largest and most well-equipped of its kind in China. Prominent were the 91,600-sq-m (23-acre) terminal building and what was once China's longest (at 4,000 m or 4,374 yd) runway. With it, the airport attracted the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (Airshow China) to Zhuhai and became a significant pilot training base for Chinese civil aviation (including Hong Kong and Macao).

Departure lounge of Zhuhai (Jinwan) Airport [Photo by Zhong Fan / Guanhai App]

But until 2006 it had only 10 to 20 daily flights on three to eight air routes. The airport was hampered by fierce competition from established ones in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao.

Things began to change dramatically when Hong Kong-Zhuhai Airport Management was set up in 2006 by the Zhuhai Municipal People's Government and Airport Authority Hong Kong. Creatively entrusting the new management with the airport's transportation business for the next 20 years was, as the idiom 脚踏实地 (jiǎo tà shí dì) implies, a "step on solid ground."

Advanced management concepts brought an all-new experience to passengers and the airport has scored high ever since in terms of safety and service in appraisals by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

To date, Zhuhai has 81 air connections reaching most domestic capital and developed cities, and 29 are accessible by at least three daily flights.

In response to surging needs, construction of a second terminal, comprehensive transport hub, and improved supportive facilities commenced Nov 29, 2019. All work is expected to be completed by late June 2023.

Today, the airport is bringing the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone (SEZ) ever closer to the rest of China and the world as its role continues to increase in the Greater Bay Area.