A China Southern Airlines plane takes off at Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport in South China's Guangdong Province on March 29. Photo: IC

Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport in South China's Guangdong Province had a test flight of its passenger planes on Wednesday following an expansion, aiming to develop itself into an international air transport hub.

Since the expansion, the airport is able meet the operating conditions required for wide-body aircraft including the Boeing 787 and the Airbus 330. The airport will provide direct flight services to Europe and America, according to the Guangdong Provincial Airport Management Group.

The expansion project includes an extension of the airport's runway by 400 meters, to a total length of 3,200 meters, and an increase in the total number of aircraft which the aprons can handle, from 21 to 40.

According to a plan to accelerate the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area between 2018 and 2020, Guangdong is pushing forward the construction of world-class airport clusters in the Pearl River Delta region, and the coordinated development of airports in Jieyang, Zhanjiang and Shaoguan.

Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport currently operates flights to eight international destinations, including Bangkok, Phnom Penh and Kuala Lumpur. Its passenger throughput has grown at an annual average of 20 percent since the airport opened to traffic at the end of 2011. It is expected to exceed seven million trips this year.