Official taxi curb (arrivals 2号门) · ~30–50 min to the old-town gates, traffic depending (~22–30 km)
Where they are
One map, pinned from each airport’s published coordinates.
Category scores
Overall is the published weighted sum. A highlighted score is ahead; a tie stays plain.
Ease of use
25% · Wayfinding, security wait, and layout.
DLU6.8
LJG7.4+0.6
Comfort & amenities
20% · Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet.
DLU6.2
LJG7.2+1.0
Food & retail
15% · Food and retail quality and variety.
DLU5.4
LJG7.0+1.6
Ground access
15% · Transit, taxi, and parking to the city.
DLU6.6
LJG8.0+1.4
Reliability
15% · Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience.
DLU6.2
LJG6.6+0.4
Lounges
10% · Worth-it density and access quality.
DLU5.6
LJG6.6+1.0
Best for
DLU
Domestic trips to Dali old town when you budget the bus rideA short, simple terminal if you are not connecting
LJG
Domestic tourist hops into Lijiang on Capital Airlines through T1Cheap leftover ¥20 机场大巴 from arrivals 2号门 to 蓝天宾馆A 240-hour TWOV arrival into the nine Yunnan cities, not a skip-immigration walkLijiang / Dali without routing through KMG
Watch out for
DLU
The live hall is past its design volume on peak holidaysNo train to the terminal, and the old-town bus is about 90 minutes2025 international charters were tour-group only and are not on the summer 2026 schedule announcement
LJG
T3 / 3,500 m / 4E leftover are not live — one 3,000 m 02/20 4D strip is the passenger campusPriority Pass leftover Best is 苦荞茶 and 泡面, not a buffet; eat 塞纳左岸 between gates 6 and 724-hour skip-immigration does not apply; Yunnan leftover of that product is KMGEnglish Wikipedia leftover Opened 28 June 2012 is leftover-wrong — civil leftover is 13 Jul 1995
Amenities and tips
DLU
Airport busBest VIP loungeLevel-2 shopsPriority security lane
Leave the old town early
The airport bus from the old-town city terminal is scheduled at about 90 minutes, and phase-3 roadworks can add more.
Check in downstairs, wait upstairs
Domestic check-in and security are on level 1; the departure hold, food, and shops are on level 2.
Eat before you rely on the hall
Level 2 has the food and shops, but this is a small domestic hall, not a place to plan a meal.
LJG
Best Business VIP Lounge塞纳左岸 between gates 6 and 7First Class Lounge 1机场大巴 ¥20 from 2号门Domestic airside 直饮水Official parking 15 min free / 24 h ¥18
CSAIR leftover dies at 40 minutes
CSAIR leftover check-in at LJG closes 40 minutes before STD. Lijiang.cn leftover still asks 2 hours on 暑运 days. Use 2 hours if you are checking a bag.
T1 domestic, T2 international — no live T3
Every domestic flight leftover uses T1. International / HMT leftover is the smaller T2 hall on the same field. T3 leftover is 2027 fit-out, not a check-in hall.
Eat 塞纳左岸; Best leftover is 泡面
DragonPass leftover names 塞纳左岸 between gates 6 and 7, 06:20 until the last flight. Priority Pass leftover Best is 苦荞茶 and instant noodles, not a buffet.
DLU · A single domestic hall in Fengyi that already outgrew its 2.2 million design, with a real airport bus and a landside lounge, while T3 stays a construction site until at least 2028.
LJG · Yunnan's second international field is a plateau T1/T2 tourist airport with a ¥20 bus and snack-grade Priority Pass — the tradeoff is a 3,000 m 4D strip at 2,242.8 m, no metro, and a T3 / 4E overlay that is not flying.
