Zhanjiang Wuchuan Airport, the first 4E airport in western Guangdong, was put into use Thursday.

As the relocation project of Zhanjiang Airport, Zhanjiang Wuchuan Airport is located in Wuchuan' Tang Town, adjacent to Maoming City of Guangdong. It is a trunk airport in China as well as a national A class airport open to international traffic.

It can serve a population of more than 20 million in western Guangdong and part of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

With a designed annual aircraft takeoff and landing capacity of 47,400 sorties, it has 30 aircraft parking stands capable of accommodating large wide-body aircraft like Boeing B777, B787 and Airbus A330.

The relocation project began construction in October 2019 and test flights finished in October two years later.

The new airport operates the same flights as the old one, with 46 routes to 43 cities. There are 17 airlines in the airport with 738flightsarrivingand departing per week. Both the number of routes and navigable cities have reached a record high, with the fare for two-thirds of the flights between 160 and 500 yuan (about $25 to $78.5).

The old Zhanjiang Airport built in 1936 closed Thursday and its terminal will be transformed into a museum.