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 Southern 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: Thailand
• 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) remains China’s busiest domestic airport with 3.2m seats, up 15.5% vs last year.
• Shenzhen (SZN) and Beijing Capital (PEK) rank second and third, with 2.8m and 2.7m seats respectively.
  
• Shanghai Hongqiao (SHA) was the only major airport to see a decline in capacity, down 0.5% vs February 2025.
  
  
• READY TO VIEW: The World's Busiest Airports of 2025

What are China's Top Airlines?

• China Southern Airlines remains China's busiest airline, holding a 15% share of the domestic market with 10.8 million seats in February 2026.
• In second place is China Eastern Airlines, which also holds a 15% share of the domestic market, with 10.3 million seats.
• Spring Airlines recorded the largest percentage growth, with a 23.8% increase in domestic capacity vs February 2025. Beijing Capital Airlines made the second largest percentage increase, growing by 14.8% vs last year to 1.6m seats.
  

Which are the Most Flown Airline Routes in China?

• Beijing Capital – Shanghai Hongqiao (PEK–SHA) remains the busiest route with 480,700 seats, despite a 10.1% capacity reduction.
• Shanghai Hongqiao – Shenzhen (SHA–SZN) is now the third busiest route, with capacity down 3.7% to 467,300 seats in February 2026.
• Guangzhou Baiyun – Shanghai Pudong saw the fastest growth among the Top 10 routes, up 9.8% vs last year.

Which Chinese Cities are Key For Air Travel?

• Beijing remains the busiest city with 5.1m seats across its two main airports, representing 7% of the market.
• Shanghai ranks second with 4.5m seats, accounting for 6% market share.
• Guangzhou recorded the fastest city-level growth, with capacity up 16% vs last year.

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