CHINA AVIATION MARKET

Flight data insights and aviation analysis focused on China's airline market , with data powered by OAG's Schedules Analyser.

Here's an overview of the top statistics from China's aviation market this month:

• The busiest airport: Baiyun International (CAN) 
• Top Chinese airline (domestic): China Eastern Airlines
• The busiest domestic air route in China: Beijing Capital Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao (PEK-SHA)
• China's biggest city for air capacity: Beijing
• The top country Chinese travellers fly to: The Republic of Korea
• Scroll down for more data from each category.

The data is updated monthly. Seats are calculated as departing seats (one-way). The data displayed in the charts below is available to download here.

Which are China's biggest airports?

• Baiyun International (CAN) is China’s busiest domestic airport in March 2026, with 3.4m seats, a 10.2% increase in capacity compared with last year.
• Shenzhen (SZN) and Beijing Capital (PEK) airports remain the second and third busiest airports, with 3.1m and 3m seats respectively.
• Capacity increased at the fastest rate in Kunming vs last year, increasing by 13.5% vs March 2025.
  
  
• READY TO VIEW: The World's Busiest Airports of 2025

What are China's Top Airlines?

• China Eastern Airlines overtook China Southern Airlines as the busiest airline this month, representing 15% of the domestic market with 11m seats in March 2026. China Southern Airlines also holds a 15% domestic market share, with 10.8m seats.
• Percentage-wise, Sichuan Airlines and Spring Airlines recorded the largest year-on-year increases in domestic capacity, up 19.5% and 19% respectively compared with March 2025.

Which are the Most Flown Airline Routes in China?

• Beijing Capital Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao (PEK-SHA) is China's busiest route again in March 2026 with 649,000 seats.
• Capacity on the Shanghai Hongqiao - Shenzhen (SHA–SZN) route fell by 1.7%, making it the second-busiest route in March 2026 with 629,500 seats.
• Within the Top 10, capacity decreased year on year on four routes, while the Guangzhou Baiyun–Hangzhou route was unchanged.
  

Which Chinese Cities are Key For Air Travel?

• Beijing is China's busiest city this month, with 5.5m scheduled seats across its two main airports, accounting for 7% of total market capacity.
• Shanghai is the second busiest city with 4.8m seats this month.
• Capacity at Haikou and Kunming grew at the fastest rate of 14% vs last year.
  

The table shows domestic capacity by Chinese Province for this month and the same month last year.