Kinmen Shangyi Airport () is a civilian airport serving

Kinmen Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separat ...

Fujian Province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

. It is located at

Jinhu Township Jinhu may refer to: Mainland China *Jinhu County (金湖县), of Huai'an, Jiangsu * Jinhu, Jianhu County (阜余镇), town in Jianhu County, Jiangsu * Jinhu, Gongqingcheng (金湖镇), town in Gongqingcheng Gongqingcheng () is a sub-prefecture- ...

Kinmen County Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separa ...

. It was authorized to become a C-class airport under the direct supervision of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, Ministry of Transportation and Communications of the

Executive Yuan The Executive Yuan () is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Its leader is the Premier, who is appointed by the President of the Republic of China, and requires confirmation by the Legislative Yuan. ...

. It serves an average of 1.2 million passengers every year. With the direct Cross-Strait flights between mainland China and Taiwan being expensive compared to domestic fares for each side respectively, this makes travel via Kinmen with an hourly short thirty-minute ferry ride to Xiamen's

Wutong Ferry Terminal Wutong Ferry Terminal or Wutong Port () is located on the North East coastline of Amoy island in the city of Xiamen, Fujian, China. It is a modern ferry terminal allowing hourly ferry services to the Taiwanese controlled Kinmen Island. It fea ...

, close to

Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport is the airport serving the city of Xiamen in Fujian Province, China. It is the main base of XiamenAir and TAECO, an aircraft maintenance provider. The airport is located on the north side of Xiamen Island ...

, very popular. Check-in facilities for Kinmen Airport flights exists within the Wutong Ferry Terminal to assist in travel from the mainland to Taiwan.

History

Kinmen Airport was originally established in 1949 in Sihung Village. In June 1951, the Ministry of National Defense ratified TransAsia Airways to launch its first flight to Kinmen and a once-a-week scheduled flight began to operate. On 23 August 1958, the flight was cancelled due to

Second Taiwan Strait Crisis The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict that took place between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). In this conflict, the PRC shelled the islands of Kinm ...

with the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...

(PLA). The airport was then moved to Shang-i where it is now located, taken over by the

Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based ...

(ROCAF) in consideration of the war with PLA. With the growing number of passengers traveling between Taiwan Island and Kinmen, the government started to reestablish the civilian flight between the two and it began operation in September 1987 by

Far Eastern Air Transport FAT Taiwan Inc., () doing business as Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT), was an airline with its head office in Songshan District, Taipei, Taiwan ( Republic of China). Established in 1957, it operated domestic services from Taipei and Kaohs ...

, sharing the same apron and terminal building with ROCAF at the airport. Since then, the new era of civilian flight to Kinmen began. Many other airlines joined the flight route. Taking the necessary steps to accommodate the passenger growth to Kinmen, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) coordinated with the government for general construction plan of NT$1.5 billion and built a new civilian airport at the northeastern side of the military airport. On 1 March 1994, the Kinmen Civil Airport was formally established, aiming at providing much more safety, convenience and comfort for the passengers and promoting the progress and prosperity of Kinmen. On 3 March 2000, the CAA implemented improvements of facilities, flight security and quality of service at the airport.

Facilities

The airport resides at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...

of above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value ( magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the '' ...

. It has one

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete ...

designated 06/24 with an

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

surface measuring . The approach route to Kinmen Airport used to be the most dangerous in Taiwan due to the proximity to Mainland China and constrains in terrain, the Runway 06 equipped the SSALR

approach lighting system An approach lighting system (ALS) is a lighting system installed on the approach end of an airport runway and consisting of a series of lightbars, strobe lights, or a combination of the two that extends outward from the runway end. ALS usually ...

(ALS) while the Runway 24 has MALSF. The Runway 06 established the

instrument landing system In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...

(ILS) in September 2003 after the negotiation with

CAAC The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; ) is the Chinese civil aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents. As the aviation authority responsible fo ...

Xiamen ACC. A 2,580-metre connecting road links to a highway leading to two townships.

Airlines and destinations

References

External links

Official Website in Traditional Chinese

Official website in English
* * {{Airports in Taiwan 1994 establishments in Taiwan Airports established in 1994 Airports in Taiwan Buildings and structures in Kinmen County Jinhu Township Transportation in Kinmen County

History

Facilities

Airlines and destinations

See also

References

External links