Travelers boost business at Pudong airport
Travelers arrive at at the T2 terminal of Pudong airport on Monday afternoon.
Domestic flights and passenger volume at Pudong airport are back to 2019 levels as the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday approaches.
Despite the suspension of many international flights, there were long queues of departing passengers in the T2 terminal on Monday afternoon, along with many arrivals.
About 900 domestic flights are expected to take off and land at the airport every day during the eight-day holiday beginning on Thursday, the same as last year, the Shanghai Airport Authority said.
Flights arriving and departing from Shanghai will transport about 130,000 travelers a day.
“The airport authority along with domestic airlines have reallocated the time slots of international flights for popular domestic routes to tap the rising demand for domestic travel,” said Hu Zhihong, Pudong airport’s general manager.
Popular destinations this year include Kunming in Yunnan Province, Chongqing, Sanya in Hainan Island, Chengdu in Sichuan Province, Lanzhou and Dunhuang in Gansu Province, cities in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Hohhot in Inner Mongolia.
Travelers line up at Pudong's T2 terminal on Monday.
Due to the pandemic and restrictions on overseas travel, there are fewer bookings for overseas flights, but bookings for domestic travel have risen rapidly, Shanghai-based Spring Airlines said.
With more travelers returning, businesses at the terminal buildings are gradually recovering, said Xie Xin’an, an official in charge of business operations at the Pudong airport.
To ensure safety, shops and restaurants are required to prepare hand sanitiser and many stores have contactless payments.
The airport authority launched a campaign on Monday to boost consumption, while promoting Shanghai's time-honored brands and official souvenirs.
The Shanghai Great Gift campaign launched with the Shanghai Consumer Council aims to drive consumption and promote Shanghai souvenirs.
Officials with the airport authority and Shanghai Consumer Council launch the Shanghai Great Gift campaign.
Shanghai souvenirs, the city’s best specialty products, will be sold and exhibited at the terminal buildings of both Pudong and Hongqiao airports.
They souvenirs include White Rabbit candies, Xing Hua Lou mooncakes and Hero pens.
The first round of the campaign was launched on Monday and will run through October 8.
A retrospective exhibition of Shanghai’s time-honored brands has opened to the travelers at the T2 terminal, where visitors can take part in a lucky draw with their flight tickets to win souvenirs or discounts that can be used at the airport’s shops or restaurants.
Travelers pick up Shanghai souvenirs from carts in the boarding hall at Pudong's T2 terminal.
A “cigarette paper store,” once popular community shops in Shanghai in 1990s, has been set up to refresh locals’ memories. Many people took photos of the store on Monday.
A bazaar at the boarding hall at the T2 terminal sells White Rabbit candies and Xing Hua Lou mooncakes.
“It is convenient for me to bring some local specialties to the family,” said Wang Weiting, a woman from north Shanxi Province who had been on a business trip to Shanghai and was returning home on Monday.
She won a coupon at a machine offering a 188 yuan (US$27.6) discount for a 300 yuan purchase at stores or restaurants at the airport.
Over 260 shops and 110 restaurants at the T1 and T2 terminals of the Pudong airport are offering additional discounts and promotions during the holiday, Xie said.
A traveler looks at a restored “cigarette paper store,” once popular in Shanghai, at Pudong airport.
Wang Weiting (left), a woman from north Shanxi Province, wins a 188 yuan discount coupon at the airport..
An airport staff member wears protective gear as passengers arrive.
A guard on duty as travelers pass through a security checkpoint.
An airport staff member disinfects trolleys.
