The Suzhou City Terminal of Shanghai Airport Authority (AVINEX) in SIP was recently selected one of 12 outstanding cases of institutional innovations in pilot free trade zones in the Yangtze River Economic Belt as an international air travel facilitation mode for passengers in a city without airport.

The evaluation, undertaken by the Yangtze River Economic Belt Free Trade Research Think Tank Alliance, covered 24 areas of nine pilot FTZs within the Yangtze River Economic Belt. It was aimed at discovering and rolling out exemplary institutional innovation practices to promote higher-level development of open economy.

The Suzhou City Terminal of AVINEX came into operation in May 2023 to provide ticket booking, check-in and other services for passengers of AVINEX’s airports in Shanghai, and got an IATA code and became qualified for serving international flights one year later. Last year, the Suzhou City Terminal Service Center came into operation at Shanghai Pudong International Airport to provide international passengers with convenience for travel to Suzhou.

January 8, 2026