Yangzhou Taizhou International Airport is an airport serving the cities of Yangzhou and Taizhou in central Jiangsu, China. It is located in Jiangdu, Yangzhou, 30 kilometers from the center of Yangzhou and 20 kilometers from Taizhou. Another major city, Zhenjiang, is also nearby across the Yangtze River.
The airport is jointly constructed and owned by the cities of Yangzhou (80% share) and Taizhou (20% share), with a total investment of 2.082 billion yuan. The airport was opened on 7 May 2012. During the design and construction stage it was called Suzhong Jiangdu Airport (), but was renamed in November 2011 to reflect the names of the main cities it serves. The name plate at the airport was a calligraphy work of former CCP leader Jiang Zemin, a native of Yangzhou.
In March 2016, with approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Yangzhou Taizhou Airport was officially renamed Yangzhou Taizhou International Airport (æ¬å·Âæ³°å·Âå½é æºåº), marking its transition toward a more globally oriented role. The following year, in April 2017, the Jiangsu Provincial Development and Reform Commission approved the feasibility study for the airportâÂÂs Phase I expansion project, allowing the development to move from preliminary planning into full construction.
Construction milestones came rapidly in 2018. On 20 August, the airportâÂÂs original 2,400âÂÂmeter runway and its 800âÂÂmeter extension were successfully joined. By 29 September, the project had passed its completion inspection. On 2 October, the airport conducted its first calibration flight, coinciding with the start of industry acceptance procedures for the Phase I expansion. Later that month, on 30 October, all flights were temporarily suspended to allow a wideâÂÂbody Airbus A330 to complete a successful test flightâÂÂan achievement that demonstrated the airportâÂÂs new capability to support mediumâ and longâÂÂhaul operations. On 11 December, the CAAC East China Regional Administration issued a new operating license, upgrading the airfield classification from 4C to 4E.
In response to a local COVIDâÂÂ19 outbreak, all passenger flights at Yangzhou Taizhou International Airport were suspended beginning 31 July 2021. Operations resumed on 16 September once the situation had stabilized.
The airportâÂÂs Phase II expansion began to take shape in 2022. In June, the Jiangsu Provincial Development and Reform Commission (æ±ÂèÂÂÃ¥ÂÂæ¹å§Â) formally approved the feasibility study for the second phase. The following month, earlyâÂÂstart works commenced, signaling the transition into the construction stage. On 18 April 2023, the main works for the Phase II expansionâÂÂfocused on the airfield areaâÂÂofficially broke ground, marking another significant step in the airportâÂÂs longâÂÂterm development.
Designed as a domestic regional airport (class 4C), the airport's runway was originally long and wide. It has a 31,000-square-meter terminal building and 13 aircraft parking aprons. It was designed to handle an annual throughput of 2 million passengers and 24,000 tons of cargo by 2020.
In December 2018, the runway was extended to 3,200 meters and the airport was upgraded to class 4E. It is now capable of handling long-range, four-engine aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and the Airbus A340.