Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (IATA: CAN, ICAO: ZGGG), formerly known as Canton Civil Airport or Pai Yuen Airport, was an airport that served Guangzhou, the capital of South Central China's Guangdong province. Originally built in 1934, it was one of the first civil airports in China, but was closed on 5 August 2004 when all services were transferred to the new airport of the same name, 23 kilometres (14 mi) to the north.
History
The airport started construction in 1932 and opened in the following year in November.[1] During the Canton Operation, the Japanese Navy invaded the airport and expanded the runway.[2] In 1963, the People's Liberation Army Air Force moved away from the airport, making the airport only for public use. The name of the airport is changed to "Baiyun" named from nearby Baiyun Mountain ("Baiyun" in Chinese means "white cloud").[3]
From 1964 to 1967, it underwent a comprehensive expansion, adding an area of 725,300 square meters (7,807,000 sq ft), and extending the runway to 2,500 meters (8,202 ft 1 in) from 2,000 meters (6,561 ft 8 in) before it had the conditions of further navigation with foreign countries.
In the 1980s, the airport renovated and expanded facilities such as oil storage depots, aprons, terminal buildings, boarding bridges, and maintenance hangars to meet the standards of international first-class airports. After the Reform and Opening-up, Baiyun Airport had developed rapidly. Its passenger capacity, takeoffs and landings had ranked first in mainland China for eight consecutive years. After several expansions, it was still far from meeting its demand. It was imperative to choose a new location to build a new airport.
In 1992, the airport underwent civil aviation system reform, and the airport operated as an independent economic entity.
By 2002, the passenger throughput of the old Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport had reached 16,014,400 passengers, and the cargo and mail throughput reached 592,600 tons.
Due to the expansion of Guangzhou, the airport was surrounded by high-rise buildings and was unable to expand further to meet passengers’ needs. Instead, the new Baiyun airport was built and opened on 5 August 2004, and the old airport was closed.[4]
The former terminal of the airport is being converted into a large shopping mall. The northern portion of the former airport is being turned into a provincial- and city-level functional area integrating conference services. The southern portion will be converted into Guangzhou's secondary center integrating retail, sports facilities, business, and cultural activities.[9]
Incidents and accidents
On the 24December 1982, CAAC Flight 2311, an Ilyushin Il-18B was destroyed by fire after landing at the airport. Twenty-five of the 69 people on board were killed.