Sanya Airport Steps up Efforts to Bridge Hainan with the World

(Source: Sanya Tourism Development Commission)

On April 13th, 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced China’s plans to develop Hainan Island into a pilot international free trade zone. He made the announcement at the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Hainan special economic zone.

Serving as an important transportation hub that connects Hainan with other parts of the world, Sanya Phoenix International Airport has worked to promote itself and develop its air network in recent years. The airport has actively attended a series of promotional events at home and abroad.

In 2017, passenger throughput at the airport reached 19.39 million. The airport now operates air routes that cover major provincial capital cities, most first-tier and second-tier cities in China, and countries and regions including Russia, South Korea, Hong Kong, and cities in Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.

On March 17th to 23rd, 2018, the Sanya Phoenix International Airport attended the 16th Routes Asia in Brisbane, Australia, where the delegation met with seven airline companies to seek opportunities for potential cooperation, including Vladivostok Airport, AirAsia Group, and Bangkok Airways. The delegation then visited the headquarters of Jetstar Airlines to discuss the feasibility of developing more international routes to Sanya. The focus of the talk was centered on utilizing hub airports such as Singapore’s Changi Airport as stopover points for transferring international passengers to the Sanya airport. The delegation also visited the Melbourne Airport, where they agreed with local officials to cooperate in an effort to open a new Melbourne-Sanya-South Korea air route.

In the first quarter of 2018, passenger throughput at the airport reached 224,000, a year-on-year increase of 4.2 percent. The airport handled 1,986 flights in the first quarter of the year, a year-on-year increase of 10.8 percent.

Starting from May 1st, 2018, citizens of 59 countries can enjoy 30-day visa-free access to Hainan Island. Under the new visa policy, group and individual visitors from these 59 countries can visit Hainan Province for 30 days visa-free, as long as they book their tours through travel agencies registered in Hainan Province and approved by the China National Tourism Administration.

The 59 countries that may enjoy visa-free access to Hainan include the following: Russia, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Norway, Ukraine, Italy, Austria, Finland, Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, Monaco, Belarus, UAE, and Qatar.

Of the 59 countries that enjoy visa-free access to Hainan Province, several now have direct air routes to Sanya, as follows: Russia, Ukraine, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia.

This year, airport officials will continue to seek out more opportunities to open more international air routes with airline companies and air charter vendors, in a bid to improve the city’s international air network and to meet the travel needs of visitors to Hainan. Since the beginning of 2018, the airport has opened air routes to Indonesia’s Surabaya, and Taichung in Taiwan. In the second half of 2018, the airport plans to open direct flights to South Korea and Europe, and intensify flights to Russia.

Sanya Phoenix International Airport

三亚凤凰国际机场

Website: http://www.sanyaairport.com

Inquiry Service: 0898-88289389

English Hotline: 0898-88289390