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Shanghai Longhua Airport Shanghai Lunghwa Airport 上海龙华机场 | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Heliport | ||||||||||
| Serves | Shanghai | ||||||||||
| Location | Longhua,Xuhui, Shanghai,China | ||||||||||
| Opened |
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| Closed | June 2011 (2011-06) (fixed-wing aircraft) | ||||||||||
| Passenger services ceased | August 1966 (1966-08) | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 31°10′1″N121°27′13″E / 31.16694°N 121.45361°E /31.16694; 121.45361 | ||||||||||
 Interactive map ofShanghai Longhua Airport Shanghai Lunghwa Airport | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Derived from nearbyLonghua Temple,Shanghai Longhua Airport (ICAO:ZSSL),[1] also romanised asShanghai Lunghwa Airport, is a convertedheliport located in Longhua Subdistrict inXuhui District, 10 km (6.2 mi) south of downtownShanghai,China, on the bank of theHuangpu River. It opened in June 1929 and served as the city's civilian airport until August 1966, whenShanghai Hongqiao International Airport reopened. Thereafter, it was one of two general aviation airports serving Shanghai and also served as an emergency landing site for police, fire and rescue operations southwest of the city.[2] The airport was torn down in 2013 and reopened as a heliport.
The site began airfield operations in late 1922 under theBeiyang government.
In the early 1930s, the main, semi circularArt Deco terminal was built, along with the mainATC tower on the top of the main terminal, which still exists today, making it the last structure still remaining on what was once the airport.
In the 1930s-1940s, during its golden age, the airport was known as the most popular airport foramphibious aircraft and the biggest airport of theFar East at the time.
After theBattle of Shanghai,Imperial Japanese Airways operated services from Longhua to Fukuoka and Taipei during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Additionally, the tarmac was expanded to accommodate at least 100 aircraft (before 1937, only 10 airplanes could be parked at the tarmac), 2 gravel runways were added, making Longhua Airport one of China's first airports with more than one runway built.[3][4]
After the end ofWorld War II, basic equipment such as power supply, radar, and communication systems were renovated and improved. Hence, the airport became a hub forChina National Aviation Corporation (CNAC), as well as a famous stopover for many international airlines flying to Hong Kong, China, or Japan.Northwest Orient Airlines began service to Longhua in 1947, stopping there en route from theUnited States andJapan to thePhilippines,[5] and flew this route until suspending service in 1949.Hong Kong Airways began scheduled service to Hong Kong in 1948.[6]
ThePeople's Liberation Army took over the facility in 1949 following theKuomintang Civil War, and maintained it as a civil airport until 1966 when all remaining passenger services were moved toHongqiao.
A flying school used the old hangars of the airport. A single runway (18/36) is now built over and the old terminal in now surrounded by apartments. Although the runway no longer exists and a helipad is built nearby, an IlysuhinIl-14 (formerlyCAAC Airlines), anAntonov An-24 (formerlyChina Eastern Airlines), and 2 Chinese builtAntonov An-2 (formerly used as a general aviation in the 1960s) still existed on the tarmac, although they are no longer usable.[7]
KLM's first flight ever to Shanghai occurred in 1948, when it landed at Longhua after stopovers in Bangkok and Djakarta. Services halted in the Communist revolution and resumed again in 1996, which was then already operating atHongqiao. Today, asPudong is already opened back then (since 1999), it still operates daily flights from Amsterdam to Shanghai.
Before 1949, several international airlines operated at this airport, which is biggest in the Orient before being surpassed by others. It was taken over by the People's Liberation Army and still served as civil airport for CAAC until 1966.
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