As air traffic skyrocketed, the airport was expanded four times, in 1992, 1993, 2005, and 2011, and served more than 13 million passengers in 2012, ranking 15th in China.

Due to Dalian's rapid expansion, the airport is now surrounded by built-up urban area and has no more room to grow.

It is being built on 21 square kilometres (8.1 sq mi) of reclaimed land[3] in Jinzhou Bay [zh],[2] off the coast of Dalian, and is set to become the world's largest offshore airport.

[4] In 2014, Chinese media reported that the airport had not received the necessary approval from the national government, even though construction had already begun three years prior to the announcement.

The first stage comprises a 400,000-square-metre (4,300,000 sq ft) terminal building and two runways, and is designed to handle 31 million passengers and 650,000 tons of cargo per year.