As the tourism industry grows and develops, small-town travel has remained popular in recent years, and the number of hidden-gem small towns keeps expanding.

At the same time, more small and medium-sized airports are being built and put into operation, connecting more small towns to the air route network.

According to media reports, on September 27, Weining Caohai Airport reached an important phased construction milestone, as a calibration aircraft from the Civil Aviation Flight University of China's flight calibration center landed successfully at the airfield, and the airport held the civil aviation industry's highest ceremony, the "water salute."

The calibration flight marked the project's full transition from the main construction phase into the critical stage of navigation preparation.

Weining Caohai Airport has an elevation of 2,450.1 meters and is the only high-plateau civil transport airport in Guizhou Province.

The project has a total investment of 1.816 billion yuan and officially began construction on March 23, 2019.

The current phase is designed to meet an annual passenger throughput of 350,000 trips and a cargo and mail throughput of 1,050 tons, with a flight zone classification of 4C.

After Weining Caohai Airport is completed and put into operation, it will further improve Guizhou Province's "one hub and thirteen feeder" airport layout, better serve the national civil aviation development strategy, raise the level of openness of Weining and surrounding counties and cities, inject new momentum into regional rural revitalization, upgrading of the cultural tourism industry, and external exchanges, and enhance the potential for regional economic development.

At around 19:00 on June 12 this year, China Express flight G52637 landed smoothly at Bayingolin Luntai Airport, marking the official entry of Xinjiang's 29th civil transport airport into the trial operation stage.

From site selection in 2011 to navigation, Bayingolin Luntai Airport took more than a decade and obtained its airport operating license on June 3, 2026.

At 11:25 on July 10 this year, a Sichuan Airlines A320 passenger plane landed smoothly on the runway at Leshan Airport, marking the successful completion of the airport's verification test flight and a solid step toward official navigation.

As one of the core carriers for Leshan's effort to build an important regional transportation and logistics hub in the province, Leshan Airport's current phase, targeting 2030, is planned for an annual passenger throughput of 2 million trips and a cargo and mail throughput of 12,000 tons, with supporting comprehensive facilities improved at the same time.

The Civil Aviation Administration's "2025 Civil Aviation Industry Development Statistical Bulletin" shows that by the end of 2025, the number of transport airports in China had increased by a net 7 compared with the end of the previous year, including Lishui Airport, Balikun Dahe Airport, Ganzhou Ruijin Airport, Bozhou Airport, Jiaxing Nanhu Airport, Tongren Dejiang Airport, and Bengbu Tenghu Airport.

Looking ahead, more airports, especially small and medium-sized ones, will be "newly launched," covering more people.

Not only will more small-town residents travel by air through small airports, but through these airports, the tourism potential of hidden-gem small towns is also constantly emerging.

Ding Changfa, an associate professor in the Department of Economics at Xiamen University, told Yicai that small airports are relatively small in scale, require lower time costs for taking flights, and make travel more convenient.

Compared with high-speed rail, feeder airports also cost less to build, yet they have a strong pulling effect on the cultural tourism industry and regional economic development of some cities, with good economic and social benefits.

For example, small airports in some parts of western China greatly improve accessibility by connecting feeder flights to hub airports and then to other airports.

In recent years, with the development and deepening of the tourism industry, the popularity of small-town travel has continued to rise.

On September 24, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on promoting high-quality development of culture and tourism during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.

Man Hongwei, director of the Resource Development Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said the spatial layout of the tourism industry will continue to be improved.

Focusing on coordinated urban-rural development, 32 tourism hub cities, 33 key tourism cities, and 23 special tourism destinations will be laid out, and efforts will also be made to develop county-level tourism and cultivate more famous tourism counties and "hidden-gem small towns."

Against the backdrop of more small and medium-sized airports being built and put into operation, flying to small towns has become a popular choice for people during holidays, and hidden-gem small towns with airports, or those close to airports, have entered more people's holiday travel itineraries.

Qunar data shows that during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day period, ticket volume for flights to third-tier and lower "hidden-gem hundred cities" increased by more than 30% year on year.