The principal airport of Zhengzhou had been Zhengzhou Dongjiao Airport (), which was located to the east of downtown Zhengzhou, since 1956. To meet the demand of city development, a plan to build a new airport in Xuedian Township, Xinzheng to replace the old Dongjiao Airport was approved in 1992. The new airport was originally named "Zhengzhou Xuedian Airport" () after the township of its location and was later changed to the current name. Construction began in 1993 and the new airport was opened on 28 August 1997 with a terminal of 45,900 square meters and a runway (Runway 12R/30L) of 3,400 m. The designed capacity of the terminal was 3.8 million passengers a year. All the flights of Dongjiao Airport were transferred to the new airport. Dongjiao Airport was later demolished to build the Zhengdong New Area CBD on its site.