Airport Guide

History of Shanghai Pudong International Airport

One of the world's shiniest new airports, Pudong International only came into being in the late 1990s as the city's authorities realised that the existing Hongqiao International would not be able to cope with rising levels of international traffic.

Officially opened in 1999 with the completion of the first phase of construction, the new airport started taking on responsibility for all international flights into the Chinese metropolis.

The second phase and third phases of construction were completed in 2005 and 2006, with the airport being equipped with a second and third runway as well as a major new terminal.

While the airport is currently able to cope with 40 million passengers a year, work is ongoing to double this capacity, with two new runways planned as well as a new transportation centre linking the two state-of-the-art terminal buildings.

Notably, Shanghai Pudong also made history by offering the first commercial high speed 'maglev' train service, with this link running from the airport to downtown Shanghai.

Travelling to Shanghai Pudong International Airport

Highlighting the modernity of this major 21st century air hub, most passengers travel into the centre of Shanghai on the city's Maglev Train, with the 30-kilometre trip taking just over seven minutes to complete as the train hits 431km/h at its peak.

In addition, Pudong International Airport is also now linked to both Shanghai Hongqiao Airport as well as the city centre by an extension to the Shanghai Metro, with this having been constructed in time for the 2010 World Expo.

Meanwhile, business and leisure travellers looking to travel by road are able to pick up a taxi from outside the terminal buildings at any time of day or night.

Airlines Flying From Shanghai Pudong International Airport

Shanghai Pudong serves as the main hub for both China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines, as well as serving as a major international hub for Air China.

China Eastern offers dozens of domestic and international flights out of the airport, including links to Beijing, Chengdu, Fuzhou, Kunming, Nanjing, Shenyang, Xi'an and Zhengzhou within China; and Bangkok, Delhi, Frankfurt, London, Melbourne, Paris, Sydney and Vancouver overseas.

Shanghai Airlines, meanwhile, operates around 20 cheap flights within China, as well as a few international routes within Asia, including flights to Bangkok, Hanoi and Seoul.

Meanwhile, Air China also offers a range of domestic and international flights, including services to Frankfurt, Ho Chi Minh City, Melbourne, Milan, Paris and Tokyo.

Illustrating the low-cost flights revolution that has taken place in China over the past few years, a number of rival cheap airlines offer bargain flights within the country from Shanghai.

These include China Southern Airlines, Grand China Express, EVA Air, Juneyao Airlines, Shandong Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.

Additionally, more than a dozen big-name international carriers jet in and out of Shanghai Pudong.

For example, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways link the city with London, Swiss International and KLM fly to Zurich and Amsterdam respectively, Lufthansa to Frankfurt and Munich and Finnair to Helsinki.

Continental Airlines, Delta and United offer direct flights to the US, Qantas to Sydney and Aeromexico to Mexico, while Air Nippon, Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines and Emirates are among the carriers offering direct links to Asia.