Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Reclaims the Title of China's No. 1 Airport

In 2020, Baiyun Airport ended Atlanta Airport's 20-year reign as the world's busiest airport with 43.768 million passenger trips, becoming China's first hub to top the global ranking. In the years that followed, Baiyun Airport remained firmly in the top tier domestically, until 2024, when Pudong Airport's international routes staged a strong recovery and overtook Baiyun Airport with 76.787 million passenger trips, beginning a two-year lead. With the T3 terminal and fifth runway entering operation in October 2025, Baiyun Airport's capacity bottleneck was completely eliminated, and its designed capacity was raised to 120 million passenger trips. The latest data show that in the first three quarters of 2026, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport handled a cumulative 67.029 million passenger trips, up 9.7% year on year, with its passenger throughput rising to first place among airports nationwide.