Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport is located in Qingdao city in the Shandong province of China. It is situated 39km away from the city centre of Qingdao. The airport will provide connectivity to approximately 130 domestic destinations across the country and 50 international destinations, including 17 in Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Construction of the airport was completed in mid-2020 while operations commenced in August 2021.
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The airport will have the capacity to handle annual passenger traffic of 35 million, cargo throughput of 500,000t, and 300,000 aircraft movements by 2025.
Touted to be a new major transportation hub of the north-east Asian region, the airport strengthens the position of Qingdao as a gateway for Japan and South Korea. It will also be connected to metro and high-speed rail services in the region.
Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport details
Built to replace Qingdao Liuting International Airport, Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport is spread across 30.66km², which is twice the size of London’s Heathrow Airport. It is the first in the Shandong Province to achieve 4F status, meaning that it can handle the world’s largest commercial aircraft, including the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787.
The new Chinese international airport features a 478,000m² terminal and two 3,600m-long runways. The terminal building is designed in the form of a starfish with five connected airside concourses.
Qingdao Jiaodong airport features an ultra-thin 0.5mm stainless-steel roof that is made of ultra-pure ferrite. Spanning 223,000m², the roof is claimed to be the largest of its kind in the world.
The facilities at the airport include a transfer centre, a parking building, and high-speed rail and subway stations. The stations are located 20m above the ground and 80m away from the departure hall of the airport.
Spanning 16.25km², the first phase of the Jiaodong airport was built with an investment of JPY36.04bn ($5.5bn)
The second phase of construction is in progress and is expected to be completed by 2045. Two more runways will be added in the second phase, further increasing the airport’s capacity to handle 55 million passengers a year, one million tonnes of cargo, and 452,000 aircraft movements by 2045.
Amenities at the Qingdao Jiaodong Airport
Airport hospitality service provider Plaza Premium Group offers its first land-to-air premium airport experience at the Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport. The facilities are housed in two areas, including a 6,500m², three-floor VIP building located in the arrivals area, and three lounges within the departures area.
The first level of the VIP building features 11 premium rooms with designated areas for private airport services such as personal check-in, dining, concierge, and special fast track services for passengers departing from the domestic terminal. The second level houses the 2,673ft² (248.32m²) Plaza Premium Lounge that features meeting rooms, private dining, an aerobar, and massage services.
Situated on the third floor, the Aerotel Qingdao hotel offers 54 rooms across three suite types.
Contractors involved
Multinational engineering and consulting firm Atkins and architecture agency China Southwest Architectural Design and Research Institute (CSWADI) secured a contract to provide master planning, airfield design, landscaping, water engineering, and transport planning for the airport in 2014.
Switzerland-based civil engineering service provider mageba was contracted to supply 136 units of RESTON®SA hydraulic dampers to protect the terminal building from seismic waves, in 2016.
China Construction Eighth Engineering Division, a construction company and a subsidiary of China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), served as the contractor for the project.
