With the landing of an Airbus A330, Changsha Huanghua International Airport's second runway officially came into use on March 30.

The new runway means that Huanghua Airport is now ranked as a 4F, the highest level for an airport, and capable of accommodating wide-body aircraft such as the A380.

"I am proud to become the first pilot to land on the second runway," said Captain Li Zhenhua upon arrival. "The wider and longer runway made it easier for landing and the lighting here helped me a lot even though it was raining."

The additional runway will provide an important boost to the airport's capacity. Huanghua now hopes to almost double its traffic to 31 million passengers and 380,000 tons of cargo per year.

With a total investment of 4.1 billion yuan (US$614 million), the project to add the 3,800-meter-long runway began in December 2013. The improvement of Huanghua airport will help it become a transport hub for Hunan and Central China.