Li Peiying, the former head of Beijing Capital International Airport, has been sentenced to death by the People's Court in Shandong for taking 26.61 million yuan (HK$30.18 million) in bribes from 1995 to 2003.
From January 1995 to November 2003, Li was the assistant general manager, president and general manager of Capital Airports Holding, as well as chairman of Beijing Airport.
He was found guilty of receiving bribes from related parties to help arrange unauthorised investments and providing guarantees for bank loans, Xinhua reported on Tuesday.
Li committed fraud in appropriating 82.5 million yuan from the company from 2000 to 2003, although he subsequently returned the money, the court said.
It was the second death sentence handed down to a senior official from the aviation industry in six months.
In August, Chen Liming, the former group financial director of China Southern Air Holding, the parent of China Southern Airlines, was sentenced to death with a two-year probation. This often means the sentence is reduced to life imprisonment after two years.