The overall plan for Sanxia Airport has been approved by the South-middle Regional Administration of CAAC.

According to this plan, Sanxia Airport will be expanded to a medium international airport and will open fixed international flights to Japan and the South Korea in due time. Located in the suburb of Yichang, Hubei, Sanxia Airport is 55 kilometers from the Three Gorges Dam Area, and connects to the Wuhan-Yichang Expressway. The airport has 26 routes to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kunming, Chongqing, Zhangjiajie, Guilin, Huangshan, and Hong Kong.

The Three Gorges Dam has been listed as a national 5A scenic spots and is surrounded by another eight 4A scenic spots and a series of 3A scenic spots. Last year, the Three Gorges Dam scenic area hosted over one million domestic and international tourists and the number of arrivals is expected to increase greatly over the next several years.

The Sanxia Airport runway will be expanded from its current length of 2,600 meters to 3,200 meters, the construction area of the terminal building will be increased from 14,000 square meters to 54,000 square meters and a parallel runway will be added. The annual capacity of the airport is expected to reach 1.6 million passengers by 2015 and 5 million by 2035.