Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport has achieved unprecedented operational milestones during the 2026 Spring Festival travel period, setting new benchmarks in passenger handling capacity. On Saturday, February 21st, the aviation hub recorded a historic high of 277,600 passenger transits alongside 1,676 aircraft movements, establishing itself as China’s first airport to surpass five million passengers during this year’s holiday migration.
The airport authority reported significant year-over-year growth across all operational metrics. Passenger traffic demonstrated a robust 7.37 percent increase while flight operations expanded by 9.12 percent compared to the same period last year. Air cargo and mail volumes similarly trended upward, reaching 4,154.14 metric tons on the record-breaking day – a 9.1 percent enhancement from previous figures.
Sustained high traffic volumes characterized the entire travel period beginning February 2nd. The airport maintained exceptional throughput with eleven consecutive days (February 5-15) exceeding 260,000 daily passenger trips, including three consecutive days (February 11-13) surpassing 270,000 transits. The post-festival return phase proved particularly remarkable, with February 20th recording 275,500 passengers followed by Saturday’s record-breaking 277,600 transits, successively breaking the airport’s single-day passenger flow records.
The elevated operational tempo continued through Sunday and Monday as the Spring Festival holiday concluded, demonstrating the airport’s capacity to manage extended periods of high-density travel. These achievements highlight both the recovery of China’s transportation sector and the public’s renewed confidence in air travel following recent global challenges.