Ruoqiang Loulan Airport, the 20th civil airport in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, started operation on March 29.
Only one air route, scheduled for every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, operates out of the Ruoqiang Loulan Airport at this stage. The new route is operated by China Southern Airlines, connecting Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, Korla City and Ruoqiang County.
Ruoqiang Loulan Airport has improved the infrastructure of the county and will lay the foundation to build Ruoqiang into a regional transportation hub and trade and logistics center in the future. It is expected to annually handle 120,000 passengers and 480 tons of cargo by 2020.