Mount Wutai airport starts operation

The Mount Wutai airport in North China's Shanxi province started operation with arrival of a flight from Haikou, Hainan province on Dec 25, 2015.

In addition to the flight linking Mount Wutai and Haikou, a shuttle flight between the scenic spot and the city of Shanghai is expected to open in January.

Flights to Guangzhou, Guangdong province and Xiamen, Fujian province will be operational late this year. And other routes linking Mount Wutai with cities such as Dalian, Kunming, and Chengdu are also in the planning stage.

The new airport started construction on June 10, 2013 and completed construction on September 30, 2015.

With total investment of 900 million yuan ($136.8 million), the airport consists of a 2,600-meter airstrip, a 217-m taxiway, a 13,000-sq-m terminal, an 863-sq-m ATC building, and a 3,000-sq-m parking lot.

It is also equipped with navigational lighting, telecommunications, weather forecasting, fire control and emergency rescue facilities.

Local authorities said that as the airport makes it more convenient for tourists to travel to Mount Wutai, it will help increase the influence of the tourist site and promote the development of local tourism and the economy.

It is predicted that the airport will handle 350,000 passengers and 1,570 tons of freight annually, and will experience 4,660 take-offs and landings by 2020.