Early development

The former international airport of Zhengzhou, known as Zhengzhou Dongjiao Airport (Chinese: 郑州东郊机场), was built in 1956. However, the airport, which had a 2,400 meter long and 45 meter wide runway, capable of handling airliners as large as a Boeing 767, was too close to the city center, worsening the air and noise pollution, especially from jet-powered planes like the Trident and Boeing 737. Development of many buildings in the area worsened the dire situation, thus risking aircraft-related accidents. Hence, to meet the demand of city development, a plan to build a new airport in Xuedian Township, Xinzheng to replace the old Dongjiao Airport was approved in 1992.^[6] The new airport was originally named Zhengzhou Xuedian Airport (Chinese: 郑州薛店机场) after the township of its location and was later changed to the current name. Construction began in 1993 and the new airport was opened on 28 August 1997 with a terminal of 45,900 square meters and a runway (Runway 12R/30L) of 3,400 m. The designed capacity of the terminal was 3.8 million passengers a year. All the flights of Dongjiao Airport were transferred to the new airport. Dongjiao Airport was later demolished to build the Zhengdong New Area CBD on its site.^[7]

In 2000, the airport was approved by the state council to become the 21st international airport in China.

From 2005 to 2007, the original terminal underwent a major expansion and renovation. The new terminal (current Terminal 1) has an area of 128,000 square meters and was opened on 29 December 2007.^[8]

• The original terminal in 2006 (now renovated into Terminal 1)
• Terminal 1 under renovation in 2007

Phase II expansion

In 2013, the state council approved the expansion project of the airport, including a new terminal (Terminal 2), the second runway (Runway 12L/30R) and a ground traffic center (GTC), in alignment with its first airport-based economy zone (Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone).^[9] The construction started in 2012, and was finished in 2015. Terminal 2 was opened on 19 December 2015 together with the GTC, and the second runway was opened on 7 January 2016,^[10] making the airport the first with two terminals and two runways in central China.

Recent development

After Foxconn Zhengzhou (the main production base for iPhone, located just to the north of the airport) was put into operation in 2010, the cargo transport of the airport has been booming. Between 2010 and 2017, the cargo volume handled by the airport increased from 85,798.1^[11] to 502,714.8^[3] metric tonnes, growing by 34 percent yearly on average, making it the seventh busiest airport in China by cargo traffic.^[4]

Long-haul and intercontinental passenger services from the airport also began to emerge in recent years. In late 2015 Emirates announced it would begin service from Dubai to Zhengzhou via Yinchuan from May 2016, as part of the airline's expansion plans in China. This is Zhengzhou's first connection to the Middle East.^[12] The service started from 3 May 2016^[13] and stopped from November 2018. On 11 November 2016, Sichuan Airlines launched non-stop flights to Vancouver. It is the first regular non-stop intercontinental passenger service for the airport.^[14][15] Non-stop flight service to Melbourne was opened by Jetstar on 6 December 2017.^[16] This is the first air route to Australia from the airport.

The airport rail link services between Zhengzhou city center and the airport became available after the completion of the ground traffic center in 2015, including the Zhengzhou–Xinzheng Airport intercity railway, which started operations from 31 December 2015 and served as an express link,^[17] and Zhengzhou Metro Chengjiao line, which started operations from 12 January 2017.^[18]

In 2017, the airport surpassed Wuhan Tianhe International Airport and Changsha Huanghua International Airport in terms of passenger traffic, making it the busiest airport in central China in both passenger and cargo traffic.^[19]

Terminal 1 (closed)

The current Terminal 1 was opened on 29 December 2007, after the expansion and renovation of the former terminal, which was opened in 1998. It covers an area of 128,000 square metres (1,380,000 sq ft) and has 14 gates with jet bridges. The roof of Terminal 1 is shaped like waves.

After the opening of Terminal 2, it was closed as a future reserve and temporarily transformed into an exhibition hall.^[20]

• Terminal 1 in 2013
• Departure hall of Terminal 1 in 2013
• The closed Terminal 1 and the old air traffic control tower seen from Terminal 2

Terminal 2

Terminal 2, the only terminal building in operation at present, is located to the northeast of Terminal 1. It was opened on 19 December 2015 with an area of 485,000 square metres (5,220,000 sq ft). Terminal 2 has an X-shaped layout with four piers seeing from above, which resembles and implies "opened arms to embrace the world".^[21] The northwest pier is for international flights and others are for domestic use.

• Entrance of Terminal 2
• Departure hall of Terminal 2
• Waiting and boarding area of Terminal 2

• A boarding gate at Terminal 2
• Baggage claim area of Terminal 2
• Terminal 2 seen from the apron

Ground traffic center

The ground traffic center (GTC) was opened together with Terminal 2. It is to the west of Terminal 2 and is connected to the arrival hall of Terminal 2 by three corridors. The GTC has been designed to become a transportation hub for traffic between the airport and cities in central plains region, with an intercity train station and a metro station on the underground floors. Passengers can take taxis, intercity coaches, intercity trains and Zhengzhou Metro trains here.

Air-traffic control tower

The new air-traffic control tower was put into use on 7 January 2016, together with the second runway.^[22] The control tower is 93.5 m (307 ft) in height and its shape resembles the Jiahu Gudi (bone flute) discovered in Henan.

Runways

The airport has two parallel runways:

• The south runway (3,400 m (11,200 ft) long and 45 m (148 ft) wide, opened in 1997)
• The north runway (3,600 m (11,800 ft) long and 60 m (200 ft) wide, opened in 2016)

The north runway has a Category II Precision Approach.^[23] Normally, the north runway (12L/30R) is used for landing while the south runway (12R/30L) is used for taking-off.

Passenger

Cargo

Highway

• S1 Zhengzhou Airport Expressway
• G4 Beijing–Hong Kong and Macau Expressway

Both expressways are connected to the airport via Yingbin Elevated Road.

Rail

Airport rail link is served by Zhengzhou–Xinzheng Airport intercity railway and Zhengzhou Metro Chengjiao line.

Bus