The Philippines in 1996-1997, China in 2000, Vietnam in 2009, Japan in 2013 and 2025, South Korea in 2014 and 2024, Taiwan in 2017 (the starting point of Trip By Trip), Singapore in 2018, Hong Kong and Macau in 2023. I like travelling to East Asia. Yet I never visited Thailand, for many westerners the starting point of Asia travels. Unexpectedly, my request for time off in January 2026 was granted, so I decided to not stay home. I booked flights to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia for a ten-day gay solo trip.
After just under ten hours flying, I landed at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport (CKG) in Chongqing. Chongqing is a direct-administered municipality in southern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the Central People’s Government, along with Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin. It was separated from the surrounding province of Sichuan in 1997. It is the only direct-administered municipality located deep inland.The municipality covers a large geographical area roughly the size of Austria, which includes several disjunct urban areas in addition to Chongqing proper. Due to its classification, the municipality of Chongqing is the largest city proper in the world by population, though it is not the most populous urban area.
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport is the principal aviation gateway to Chongqing, one of China’s fastest-growing megacities and a strategic economic centre in the country’s west. Located around 19 kilometres north of the city centre in the Liangjiang New Area, the airport has developed from a regional facility into a large, complex hub that increasingly plays a national and international role. Its evolution closely mirrors Chongqing’s own transformation into a manufacturing, logistics and innovation powerhouse at the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
Modern Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport opened in January 1990, replacing the older Baishiyi Airport for civil aviation. In its early years it served mainly domestic routes, but growth accelerated rapidly from the early 2000s as Chongqing gained provincial-level status and central government backing as a key development zone in western China.
A sequence of large-scale expansion projects followed. Terminal 2 opened in 2004, a second runway in 2010, and the landmark Terminal 3A in 2017, which marked the airport’s transition into a long-haul-capable international gateway. The most recent phase, completed in 2025, added satellite Terminal 3B and a fourth runway, making Jiangbei the first airport in central and western China with four runways and positioning it structurally alongside China’s largest hub airports .
Today the airport functions as a hub or major base for several Chinese carriers, including China Southern Airlines (through its subsidiary Chongqing Airlines), Hainan Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, West Air and China Express Airlines, while also serving as a focus city for Air China and other network airlines.
Ambitions
Its route network is heavily domestic, reflecting Chongqing’s vast catchment area, but international services have grown steadily since the opening of Terminal 3A. Prior to the pandemic the airport had already established non-stop links to Europe, North America, Oceania, the Middle East and East Asia, signalling ambitions well beyond its regional origins .
By 2023, passenger numbers had recovered strongly, and in 2025 Chongqing Jiangbei crossed a symbolic threshold by handling more than 50 million passengers in a single year, placing it among a relatively small group of airports worldwide to reach that scale.
Particularly striking was the rebound in international travel: inbound foreign passenger numbers almost doubled year-on-year, reflecting both the restoration of long-haul routes and the airport’s growing effectiveness as a transfer point between domestic China and overseas destinations.
Cargo has followed a similar trajectory, with throughput exceeding half a million tonnes annually and strengthening Chongqing’s role in global supply chains linked to electronics, automotive manufacturing and cross-border e-commerce.
These results are not seen locally as an endpoint but as a platform for a far more ambitious next phase. Airport management and municipal authorities are explicit about their goal of transforming Chongqing Jiangbei into the dominant international aviation hub of western China and a meaningful competitor to the long-established gateways of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
A core element of this strategy is expanding the intercontinental network and improving transfer connectivity. In interviews with international aviation media, airport executives have emphasised that the long-term objective is true five-continent coverage, supported by coordinated wave scheduling that allows smooth domestic-to-international and international-to-domestic connections.
2030
Infrastructure expansion underpins these ambitions. With Terminal 3B and the fourth runway now operational, Jiangbei’s designed annual capacity rises towards 80 million passengers and over one million tonnes of cargo by around 2030. Peak-hour aircraft movements have been significantly increased, improving resilience and making it easier to accommodate additional long-haul frequencies without congestion.
At the same time, investments in automation, biometric processing and smart-airport systems are intended to make transfers faster and more predictable, a key requirement if Chongqing is to attract connecting traffic away from established hubs on China’s east coast .
Route development is being closely aligned with national and regional policy. Chongqing has been designated by the Civil Aviation Administration of China as one of the country’s core ‘composite gateway hubs’, giving it priority support for international route expansion.
The airport’s network strategy places particular emphasis on Europe, Southeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region, positioning Chongqing as a bridge between China’s interior and global markets.
Recent additions, including new and resumed services to European cities such as Brussels and Madrid, alongside routes across the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership area, are presented as early steps towards a much denser long-haul network by the end of the decade .
The airport’s ambitions extend beyond passenger traffic alone. Cargo is seen as an equally strategic pillar, supported by Chongqing’s role as a rail-air-river logistics hub and as the eastern anchor of several China–Europe freight corridors. Dedicated cargo routes, including links to European freight hubs, are being expanded in parallel with passenger services, reinforcing Jiangbei’s position as a multimodal logistics centre rather than a purely aviation-focused facility .
Looking further ahead, planners acknowledge that even the expanded Jiangbei site has physical limits. As a result, long-term discussions are under way about the construction of a second major airport in the Chongqing region, potentially focused on cargo and regional operations. Such a development would allow Jiangbei to concentrate on its role as an intercontinental hub while ensuring sufficient capacity for continued growth across all segments of air traffic.
In this broader context, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport is increasingly framed not just as a transport facility but as a strategic instrument of regional development and global integration. Its rapid rise over the past three decades, capped by recent passenger and infrastructure milestones, has laid the groundwork for far-reaching ambitions.
Whether it can fully realise its vision of becoming a truly global hub will depend on factors ranging from airline partnerships and air-traffic rights to geopolitics and market demand, but the direction of travel is clear: Jiangbei aims to move decisively from the periphery of global aviation to a central, connecting role in the decades ahead.
Transit feeling like immigration
Arriving at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport in the early morning, there wasn’t much to do. Even in transit, passengers were subjected to checks and controls not unlike conventional immigration. For example, to get WiFi, you must register your passport. My face was scanned as well.
This all doesn’t invite to roam about freely.
So I stumbled upon the Plaza Premium Lounge at the H-Gates, which is accessible to Priority Pass users.
Plaza Premium Lounge at H-Gates
Plaza Premium Lounge at the H Gates is the dedicated Plaza Premium offering for international departures at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport’s Terminal 3A, designed as a compact but thoughtfully curated retreat just moments from the boarding area.
Located airside in Concourse H, opposite gates H02–H04, it is particularly convenient for passengers departing on long-haul or regional international flights who want to relax close to their gate without navigating large terminal distances.
Covering 128 square metres, the lounge accommodates up to 52 guests, giving it a relatively intimate atmosphere compared with larger hub lounges. What clearly sets it apart from more conventional VIP lounges is its collaboration with a well-known domestic ramen chain, a first for Plaza Premium at Chongqing.
Instead of relying solely on buffet staples, the lounge offers freshly prepared ramen, alongside set meals and agemono (fried) combinations, adding a distinctly Japanese-inspired comfort-food element to the pre-flight experience. These hot dishes are complemented by sandwiches, light snacks, and a full range of beverages, including specialty coffees, teas, soft drinks, draught beer and other alcoholic options, all available throughout opening hours.
The interior is arranged to balance dining, relaxation and productivity. A separate dining area allows guests to enjoy meals without disturbing those who prefer to rest or work, while plush sofa seating provides a comfortable space to unwind before boarding.
For travellers needing to stay connected, the lounge includes a calm workspace environment with high-speed Wi-Fi, plentiful charging stations, and clear flight information displays. A small selection of magazines and newspapers adds to the sense of a traditional lounge, even within its modern, streamlined footprint.
Plaza Premium Lounge at H Gates operates daily from 07:00 to 02:00, making it suitable for both early-morning departures and late-night international flights. Access is typically sold in three-hour blocks, with pricing varying by date, and entry is granted upon presentation of a valid boarding pass, passport and booking voucher. As the lounge is located airside, it is accessible only after security and immigration clearance, and all guests under the same booking must enter together.
Overall, the H-Gate Plaza Premium Lounge reflects Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport’s broader ambition to elevate the international passenger experience. While modest in size, it focuses on quality, convenience and distinctive dining, offering a calm, well-equipped space that feels purpose-built for international travellers waiting to begin the long-haul leg of their journey.
Plaza Premium Lounge in practice
I did not order ramen because I thought I wouldn’t have time for them to prepare the meal and me to eat it. Also, I couldn’t make the QR code work. So I just grabbed some items from the small buffet.
So I underused this lounge, but I was also underwhelmed. It didn’t feel premium at all.
It was a bit of a waste of one of my four complimentary lounge accesses.
So?
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport is ambitious and it shows. But my early-morning experience wasn’t great.