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Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Defunct | ||||||||||
| Operator | Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Co. Ltd. | ||||||||||
| Serves | Pearl River Delta | ||||||||||
| Location | Baiyun,Guangzhou,Guangdong,China | ||||||||||
| Opened | 1933 (1933) | ||||||||||
| Closed | 5 August 2004 (2004-08-05) | ||||||||||
| Hub for |
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| Elevation AMSL | 1 m / 2 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 23°11′14″N113°16′5″E / 23.18722°N 113.26806°E /23.18722; 113.26806 | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  CAN | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport | |||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 广州白云国际机场 | ||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 廣州白雲國際機場 | ||||||||||
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Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (IATA:CAN,ICAO:ZGGG) was an airport that servedGuangzhou, the capital ofSouth Central China'sGuangdong province. Originally opened in 1933, it was one of the first civil airports in China, but was closed on 5 August 2004 when all services were transferred to thenew airport of the same name, 23 km (14 mi) to the north.
The airport started construction in 1932 and opened in November 1933.[1] During theCanton Operation, theJapanese Navy invaded the airport and expanded the runway.[2] In 1963, thePeople's Liberation Army Air Force moved away from the airport, making the airport only for public use. The name of the airport is changed to "Baiyun" named from nearbyBaiyun Mountain ("Baiyun" in Chinese means"white cloud").[3]
From 1964 to 1967, it underwent a comprehensive expansion, adding an area of 725,300 square meters (7,807,000 sq ft), and extending the runway to 2,500 meters (8,202 ft 1 in) from 2,000 meters (6,561 ft 8 in) before it had the conditions of further navigation with foreign countries.
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In the 1980s, the airport renovated and expanded facilities such as oil storage depots, aprons, terminal buildings, boarding bridges, and maintenance hangars to meet the standards of international first-class airports. After theReform and Opening-up, Baiyun Airport had developed rapidly. Its passenger capacity, takeoffs and landings had ranked first in mainland China for eight consecutive years. After several expansions, it was still far from meeting its demand. It was imperative to choose a new location to build a new airport.
In 1992, the airport underwent civil aviation system reform, and the airport operated as an independent economic entity.
By 2002, the passenger throughput of the old Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport had reached 16,014,400 passengers, and the cargo and mail throughput reached 592,600 tons.
Due to the expansion of Guangzhou, the airport was surrounded by high-rise buildings and was unable to expand further to meet passengers’ needs. Instead, the new Baiyun airport was built and opened on 5 August 2004, and the old airport was closed.[4]
There are often ferry international flights toHong Kong, even before its economic open up. Similar to its new airport, it had served a variety of domestic or foreign international airlines back in the 1980s and 1990s such asPakistan International Airlines,Garuda Indonesia,[5]Air France,[5]Japan Air System,Japan Airlines,All Nippon Airways,Malaysia Airlines,Cathay Pacific,Lufthansa,Philippine Airlines,Thai Airways International,Dragonair,Singapore Airlines,Aeroflot,Baikal Airlines,Royal Air Cambodge, and nearly every domestic airlines.[6][7]
The former terminal of the airport is being converted into a large shopping mall. The northern portion of the former airport is being turned into a provincial- and city-level functional area integrating conference services. The southern portion will be converted into Guangzhou's secondary center integrating retail, sports facilities, business, and cultural activities.[8]
