Zhengzhou Airport Guide: China’s Cargo Powerhouse in Henan
Zhengzhou Airport at Xinzheng is a Cargolux hub and the gateway to Henan Province. Read about its two runways, vast Terminal 2, routes, access and spotting.
By The Aviation Hub
7 min read
Updated October 20, 2026 
Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport is the main airport for Henan, China’s third most populous province, and one of the country’s most important cargo gateways. It lies in Xinzheng, about 23 miles (37 km) south east of downtown Zhengzhou, at the heart of a sprawling Airport Economy Zone. Around 29 million passengers used Zhengzhou Airport in 2025, but the more striking figure is cargo, which passed a million tonnes for the first time. Two parallel runways, an enormous X shaped Terminal 2 and a Cargolux hub make it a field where freighters matter as much as passengers.
Zhengzhou Airport at a Glance
The codes are CGO and ZHCC. The IATA code preserves the old romanisation Chengchow. The airfield sits at 495 ft (151 m) above sea level on the North China Plain, 23 miles (37 km) from the city centre by the airport expressway and about 20 minutes from Zhengzhou East railway station by intercity train.
Zhengzhou Airport has two runways and one terminal in passenger use, with the older Terminal 1 held in reserve. Traffic in 2025 reached around 29.2 million passengers, 17th in mainland China, with about 222,000 aircraft movements. Cargo hit roughly 1.03 million tonnes, up a quarter on the year and sixth in the country. China Southern is the largest passenger operator, with Shenzhen Airlines, West Air, Donghai Airlines and Lucky Air all treating the city as a focus or base. Cargolux runs a hub here. Henan Airport Group, owned by the provincial government, operates the field. Flight information is on the airport’s official website.
How Zhengzhou’s Airport Came to Be
Zhengzhou flew from Dongjiao Airport, opened in 1956 on the eastern edge of the city, for four decades. By the 1990s it was surrounded by housing and blamed for noise, pollution and safety worries. The province built a replacement far out in Xuedian township, Xinzheng, and it opened on 28 August 1997 under the name Zhengzhou Xuedian Airport. The old Dongjiao site became the Zhengdong New Area business district.
The airport took its current name soon after, and for a decade it was a quiet provincial field. Terminal 1 was expanded between 2005 and 2007 and opened in its enlarged form on 29 December 2007 with 14 gates. The transformation came in 2010, when Foxconn opened a vast plant just north of the airport to assemble iPhones. Cargo jumped from around 86,000 tonnes in 2010 to more than 500,000 tonnes in 2017.
The provincial government built the Airport Economy Zone around the field and approved a second runway, a new terminal and a ground transport centre in 2013. Terminal 2 opened on 19 December 2015 and the north runway followed in 2016. Cargolux chose Zhengzhou as its Chinese hub, and the Luxembourg to Zhengzhou freighter corridor became a symbol of the Belt and Road era.
Runways at Zhengzhou Airport
Runway 12L/30R is the north runway, opened in 2016, and is 3,600 m (11,811 ft) long and 60 m (197 ft) wide. It has Category II precision approaches and is normally used for landings. Runway 12R/30L is the original south runway from 1997, 3,400 m (11,155 ft) long and 45 m (148 ft) wide with an asphalt surface, and is normally used for take offs.
Splitting arrivals and departures between the pair keeps the taxi flows simple, with Terminal 2 sitting between them. The runways are long enough for fully laden Boeing 747-8 freighters bound for Europe, which is what Cargolux and the Chinese cargo airlines need. Zhengzhou Airport has plenty of spare runway capacity and movements have grown only slowly since 2019.
The plain is prone to winter fog and spring dust storms blowing down from the loess plateau. A heavy snowfall in February 2014 stranded thousands during the Lunar New Year rush and sparked a disturbance in which check in desks were damaged and staff assaulted.
Terminals and Airlines
Terminal 2 is the only passenger terminal in use and it is huge, at around 485,000 square metres. Its X shaped plan, intended to suggest open arms, puts four piers around a central hall. The north west pier handles international and regional flights, and the other three take domestic services. Every airline uses it, led by China Southern, with Shenzhen Airlines, West Air, Donghai, Lucky Air, China Eastern, Air China, Hainan Airlines and Xiamen Airlines among around 40 carriers.
Terminal 1, the 2007 building, is closed and kept as a future reserve. It currently serves as an exhibition hall. A new control tower opened on 7 January 2016, the same day as the north runway.
The cargo zone is the airport’s real centre of gravity. Cargolux, China Cargo Airlines, SF Airlines, China Postal and a long list of international freighter operators work the aprons through the night, and the Foxconn plant is a few minutes away by truck.
Routes and Destinations
Around 40 passenger airlines fly 162 routes to 86 cities. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Kunming, Hangzhou and Sanya are the busiest domestic links, and China Southern runs the densest schedule. Henan’s 100 million people generate strong demand for both business and migrant worker travel.
International routes number around 25 and cover Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, London Gatwick and Sydney. Sichuan Airlines opened the first regular intercontinental route, to Vancouver, in 2016, and Jetstar flew to Melbourne from 2017. Emirates served Dubai via Yinchuan from 2016 to 2018. Cargo routes reach Luxembourg, Chicago, Atlanta, Anchorage and dozens of other freight hubs, while Sydney, at around 5,300 miles (8,550 km), is the longest passenger route from Zhengzhou Airport.
Getting to and from Zhengzhou Airport
The Ground Transport Centre beneath Terminal 2 brings together rail, metro, coach and taxi. The Zhengzhou to Xinzheng Airport intercity railway, running since December 2015, reaches Zhengzhou East high speed station in around 20 minutes and Zhengzhou main station a little longer. The Chengjiao metro line, open since January 2017, runs through onto Line 2 into the city and is the cheapest sensible option at a few yuan, with a journey of about an hour.
Airport shuttle buses serve downtown hotels and the Central Coach Station for 20 yuan (about £2). Intercity coaches connect the airport with Luoyang, Kaifeng, Xinxiang and other cities across the central plains, and several city bus routes, including a night service, serve the Airport Economy Zone.
Two expressways reach the terminal via the Yingbin elevated road, and a taxi to the city centre costs around 100 yuan (£11) and takes 40 to 50 minutes. Multi storey car parks flank Terminal 2.
Spotting and Photography
Zhengzhou Airport rewards freighter enthusiasts more than most Chinese airports. The piers of Terminal 2 have long glass walls facing the aprons and both runways, and Cargolux Boeing 747-8Fs, SF Airlines 767s and a parade of foreign freighters land on the north runway through the afternoon and evening.
Outside the fence, the roads around the 12 thresholds on the north west side give views of arrivals when the airport lands to the south east, and the countryside around the 30 ends covers the opposite flow. The sun stays in the southern sky, so the south side gives the best light for most of the day. Dust and haze are frequent, so autumn gives the best visibility.
The Airport Economy Zone is heavily policed and photography near the Foxconn plant attracts attention. Stay on public roads, carry identification and comply if security staff ask you to move on.
What Comes Next
Zhengzhou’s future is freight. The provincial plan positions the airport as the air hub of the Belt and Road Initiative’s central corridor, with cross border e commerce warehouses, bonded zones and more freighter parking under construction. Further runway and terminal expansion may follow in the long term, though Terminal 1 can be reopened first if passenger demand requires it.
Passenger growth has been slower, and the airport sits behind Wuhan, Changsha and Xi’an in the regional pecking order. More international routes would help fill the vast Terminal 2.
Zhengzhou Airport is a cargo giant with a passenger airport attached, and that balance looks set to continue. Compare it with the other Chinese hubs on the Airports of the World map.
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