Are PVG and SHA the same airport?
 

I'm sure this is a stupid question, but are PVG and SHA the same airport?

No, they are 668 miles apart.

D'oh, I meant PVG and SHA.

(Now corrected in original post.)

Google says no:

http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archive...vg_airport.htm

PVG = Pudong International Airport; newer; handles international and domestic flights
SHA = Hongqiao Airport; older; handles domestic almost exclusively

I've flown from both and they are definitely different! Just try to get a taxi at SHA at a busy time and you'll see. Usually not too bad a wait at PVG.

"sha" is both the metro code for shanghai (similar to nyc, qla, qsf, was, tyo, etc) and airport code for shanghai hongqiao.

sha metro includes sha (the airport), pvg, and any other airports that might be built later within the shanghai metropolitan area.

when given the choice, most people seem to prefer sha to pvg because the former is closer to town, but as richard pointed out, getting a taxi at sha can be quite an ordeal. furthermore, sha is not all that much more pleasent than shanghai (train) station.

Just for future reference, you don't even need to go to Google to answer this type of question. @:-)

On this very FT page, there is a bar that has "My FlyerTalk -- FAQ -- Calendars -- New Posts -- Search -- Quick Links -- Log Out" on it.

Click on "Quick Links," then "Airport Code Lookup." When you look up PVG and SHA, you'll see they have different names: Pudong and Hongqiao, respectively, as already explained by others on this thread.

(Furthermore, I've never heard of one airport having two different codes. Have you? :confused: )

a few examples:

pek = bjs
den = dia

i would not be surprised if, in one or more of the above cases, the same metro code v. airport code confusion that gave rise to this thread is at play, but tmk there is only one commercial airport in each of these cities so it's a non-issue.

edited to add: i just consulted google and found a little more info. apparently, bjs is the actual airport code, but my luggage tags always say pek. who knows?

http://www.jal.co.jp/en/jalcargo/inter/online.html

Thanks for the examples.

In the case of DEN/DIA, at least, I know a new Denver airport was built a number of years ago. Could that explain why there is more than one code? :confused:

Thanks for the link.

The alternative scenario I was envisioning was one code represented an old airport in that city that was now shut down, and the other represented the city's new airport. IIRC DEN and DIA are examples of this (?), also I think Singapore or Hong Kong (?) changed the airport code when they built a replacement airport for the city and shut the old one down. In such situations it's conceivable that people used both the old and new code to refer to the city's airport for a while during the transition.

Each airport can only have one IATA code.

Denver International is DEN. Beijing Capital is PEK. That's it.

Hong Kong shut down the old airport one night, ferry over planes to the new airport overnight and start operating the new one. There's only one IATA code: HKG. I believe it's the same with Denver.

AFAIK the difference is all international flights arrive/depart from PVG.

SHA handles domestic flights within China.

That is essentially correct, but there are also a number of domestic flights from/to PVG. Definitely no scheduled international flights at SHA anymore though, though SHA is sometimes used when PVG is closed due to weather problems.

The airports are far enough apart (mainly because PVG is so far from the city) for the weather to be totally different sometimes.

PVG (Pudong new airport) has the new hi-speed train, right?