Recently, the site selection report for the Yining Airport relocation project in Xinjiang was approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, marking significant progress in the preliminary work of the Yining Airport relocation project.

The Yining Airport relocation project has been supplemented and included in the "Mid-term Adjustment Plan for the Special Plan for the Construction of Civil Transport Airports during the 14th Five-Year Plan". It is one of the key projects of the autonomous region and the Civil Aviation Administration of China in the early stage of the 14th Five-Year Plan. The Yining Airport relocation project has been approved this time. The recommended site in the construction project site selection report is the Tukai Desert site, which is about 32km away from Yining City, about 42km away from Horgos City, and about 24km away from the border line. It is located in Langan Township, Huocheng County , Huiyuan Town, Sandao Township and the area surrounded by the Yili River.

The Yining Airport relocation project is designed to meet the goals of passenger throughput of 6.1 million and cargo and mail throughput of 184,000 tons in 2035. The airport's short-term flight zone grade index has been initially determined to be 4E. It will be planned to have one runway in the near and long term. The runway is initially planned to be 3,600 meters long and 45 meters wide.

After the completion of the relocation of Yining Airport, it will mainly meet the air transportation needs of "Two Huoshan, Two Yi" and surrounding areas and the air cargo market demand of the Horgos land border port, and accelerate the construction of an airport that covers the entire Xinjiang, connects major cities across the country, and connects Central Asia, West Asia, It radiates the passenger route network of major cities in Europe, builds an important passenger transport node airport for the "One Belt and One Road", and supports the strategic positioning of Horgos as "an important window for China's opening to the west"; as a secondary hub airport in Xinjiang, it is an international aviation hub for Urumqi. The development of the airport will provide strong support and play a greater role in the economic and social development of the autonomous region.

Yining Airport is one of the five million-level regional airports in Xinjiang. It is one of the important node airports in the northern passage of the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt. It is the third first-class aviation port in Xinjiang open to the outside world and an important airport in northern Xinjiang. The regional sub-hub airport has played an important role in building the Air Silk Road and driving regional economic development. With the in-depth advancement of the “Belt and Road” strategy, China (Xinjiang) Free Trade Zone pilot, the autonomous region’s five major strategic positionings and eight major industrial clusters, as well as the integrated development of “Two Huoshan and Two Iraq”, the future development of Yining Airport will surely usher in aviation business Rapid growth in volume. Implementing the relocation of Yining Airport will effectively resolve the contradiction between Yining Airport and urban development, deepen the level of local opening up to the outside world, and drive high-quality development of the regional economy.

Currently, there are 25 transport airports in use in Xinjiang, with an airport density of 1.5/100,000 square kilometers. In 2024, with the completion and operation of Qitai Airport, Bayinbuluk Airport, and Barkol Airport, the number of airports in Xinjiang will reach 28. At the same time, Xinjiang will also focus on promoting the preliminary work of airport projects such as Luntai, Wusu, Hebuxail, and 38th Regiment (Qiemo). By the end of the "14th Five-Year Plan", the number of airports in use and under construction in Xinjiang will reach With 33, it continues to maintain the record of the province with the largest number of civil transport airports.