Marking the fifth anniversary of its transition to the new Jiaodong International Airport site in 2021 — a move that consolidated Qingdao's aviation capacity from the older Liuting Airport — the airport continues to strengthen its position as a regional aviation hub with new international routes and record passenger numbers.

On Aug 27, Qingdao airport will resume direct flights to Cheongju in South Korea, operated by Qingdao Airlines. This will be the only direct route from Shandong province to Cheongju, with a flight time of about 1.5 hours. The airport will also restart the Hangzhou-Qingdao-Vancouver route on Oct 2, with weekly Friday flights, offering travelers a new direct option to North America.

Since relocating to the new 4F-class facility five years ago, Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport has served over 94 million passengers and 710,000 flights. In 2025, annual passenger throughput reached 26.9 million. This summer has been especially notable, with daily passenger volume exceeding 100,000 since July 27 and peaking at 104,000 on two days in July — setting a new record.

Currently, the airport operates 210 passenger routes, including 181 domestic and 29 international and regional routes. Twelve domestic routes now offer over 10 daily flights, and services to South Korea operate at high frequency with near-daily flights.

In the first seven months of this year, the airport handled 2.1 million international and regional passengers, up 12 percent year-on-year, placing it among the top 10 airports in China by this metric.

Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport now operates 210 passenger routes, including 29 international routes, serving record summer traffic. [Photo/WeChat account: qbguanxiangshan]