At 14:40 on November 12th, Hu Rongtao, who took the China Eastern Airlines MU 2675 flight to Shanghai, became the 2millionthpassenger of the Three Gorges Airport (TGA) this year, which indicatesthat the annual passenger throughput of the airport will be over2 million.

　　To congratulate the event, Hubei Safety Supervision and Administration Bureauof China Civil Aviationsenta message, “Itisnot only a milestone in the development of Yichang Three GorgesAirport, but also a great event for Hubei Civil Aviation.

　　After 18 years of unremitting efforts, TGAachievedan annual passenger throughput of over1 million in 2014. And through vigorously developingitsmarketand enhancing transport capacity, it has newly openeda number of domestic and international routes, including 12 domestic direct flightsto capital cities, famous tourist destination cities, and 3 international direct flights to Southeast Asia. Now itsroute network layoutsaremore perfectand itstrunk flights have remarkably increased.

　　Now, TGAhas becomethelargest international gateway airportin western Hubeiand eastern Chongqing,with 18 airlinesin operation. So far, it hascompleted 17262 flight sorties, achieved a passenger throughput of 2 millionand a cargo throughput of 11910 tons, which have respectively increased by 41%, 50%and 23%compared with the same period last year, and thesegrowth ratesmake it lie in the forefront amongthe domestic medium-sized airports.

　　According to a leading official from TGA,itsover 2million passenger throughput not only shows the initial success in Yichang’s construction ofa comprehensive three-dimensional transportation hub, it isalso animportant result for TGAin achieving itsimmediate and long-term goals in passenger throughput.And the airport, with itscontinuous increase in airlines andflights,has beenplayingamore and more obvious leading role in promoting the economic, tourism and investment developmentof Yichang.

　　It is learned thatinthe13th Five-YearPlan period, Hainan AirlinesGroup,TGA’s largest shareholder,will carry out comprehensive cooperation with Yichangin aviation, tourism, finance, shipping, logistics etc., hoping to play a positive rolein Yichang’sconstruction of the Yangtze River Economic Beltand The Belt and Road Initiative. And accordingly, TGAwill integrateits orientation as a central hub in Three Gorgesregionwith its design goal of anannual passenger throughputof5 million inthree to five years, constantly accelerate such infrastructure constructionasthe T2 terminalandtheextension of main runway, and strive for the opening ofregular international routesin 2019, so as to construct convenient air channels for the development of the export-oriented economy ofYichang. (Reporter: Yan Xiaodong; Correspondent: Wang Tingting)