China aviation market briefing
Flight data for China
November 2026
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How much airline capacity does China have in 2026?
Monthly scheduled capacity: November 2025 vs November 2026
Which is the biggest airline in China?
China Southern and China Eastern are joint busiest airline this month with 9.8m seats and both representing 15% of the domestic market in November 26.
Sichuan Airlines increased capacity at the fastest rate of 17.3% followed by Shenzhen Airlines which increased capacity by 11.2% vs last year. Both airlines represent 5% of the domestic market.
Air China and Hainan Airlines reduced capacity by 4.7% and 4.6% respectively vs November 25.
Seat capacity by airline
What is the busiest airport in China?
Baiyun International (CAN) remains China's busiest domestic airport this month, with 3.4m seats, capacity has increased by 3.9% vs last year.
| No | Code | Airport | Seats | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | CAN | Guangzhou Baiyun | 3.37m | +3.9% |
| 2. | SZX | Shenzhen | 2.89m | −2.0% |
| 3. | PEK | Beijing Capital | 2.77m | −3.0% |
| 4. | TFU | Chengdu Tianfu | 2.45m | +8.4% |
| 5. | PKX | Beijing Daxing | 2.34m | +1.6% |
| 6. | SHA | Shanghai Hongqiao | 2.31m | +2.5% |
| 7. | PVG | Shanghai Pudong | 2.28m | +3.7% |
| 8. | HGH | Hangzhou | 2.07m | +1.5% |
| 9. | XIY | Xi'an Xianyang | 2.05m | −0.8% |
| 10. | KMG | Kunming | 2.04m | +1.2% |
Source: OAG · November 2026 · hover chart or click a table row to cross-highlight
Shenzhen is the second busiest airport with 2.9m, despite a 2% reduction in capacity vs November 25.
Capacity increased at the fastest rate again in Chengdu, increasing by 8.4% vs November 25.
Capacity in Beijing Capital reduced at the fastest rate, by 3% vs last year.
What are the busiest domestic flight routes in China?
Shanghai Hongqiao to Shenzhen (SHA - SZX) remains the busiest route this month, with 667,600 seats.
Beijing Capital Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao (PEK-SHA) route is second busiest route with 629,700 seats, a reduction of 2.4% vs November 25.
Capacity increased at the fastest rate on the Guangzhou Baiyun to Chengdu (CAN-CTU) route, increasing by 9.4% to 260,900 seats and bringing it into the top 10 routes in tenth position.
Capacity reduced at the fastest rate on the Chengdu to Beijing Capital route (CTU-PEK) route and Guangzhou to Beijing Capital route (CAN-PEK), both reducing by 6.7% vs November 25.
Source: OAG · November 2026 scheduled capacity
What is the busiest city for flights in China?
Beijing remains the busiest city this month with 5.1m seats through the 2 main airports in November 26, representing 8% of the market despite a 1% reduction in capacity vs last year.
Capacity at Shanghai, the second busiest city with 4.6m seats, represents 7% share of the market.
Top 5 cities by seat capacity
Which Chinese province has the most flights?
The largest province for scheduled domestic airline capacity remains Guangdong Province, accounting for 8m seats which is 12% of all scheduled departing capacity in November 26. This represents 2.9m more seats than Beijing province, the second largest province.
Capacity grew at the fastest rate in Zhejiang Province, increasing by 6% vs last year to 4.1m seats.
Seat capacity by province
Where do Chinese airlines fly internationally?
The Republic of Korea remains the busiest international market with 1m seats, up 27% vs last year.
Hong Kong is the second busiest markets, with 690,500 seats, remaining constant vs November 25.
Top 10 international markets
Capacity to Japan continues to reduce significantly by 40% to 577,000 seats.
International capacity increased at the fastest rate to Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation by 54% and 44% respectively. The former remains a small markets with 82,700 seats to/from Kazakhstan, whilst capacity to/from the Russian Federation is 300,000 seats in November 26.
Capacity remains 30% down to UAE at 114,100 seats.
China aviation: frequently asked questions
China domestic airline capacity by province — November 2026
Guangdong: 7,974,312 seats (+4.4% vs Nov 2025, 12%) · Beijing: 5,107,508 seats (−0.9%, 8%) · Sichuan: 4,680,856 seats (+4.4%, 7%) · Shanghai: 4,589,374 seats (+3.1%, 7%) · Zhejiang: 4,067,824 seats (+6.3%, 6%) · Yunnan: 3,421,259 seats (+5.5%, 5%) · Jiangsu: 3,030,768 seats (+4.5%, 5%) · Shandong: 2,724,319 seats (+3.6%, 4%) · Xinjiang: 2,420,099 seats (+3.7%, 4%) · Fujian: 2,357,138 seats (+3.5%, 4%)
Fastest-growing province: Zhejiang (+6.3%). Beijing (−0.9%) was the only top 10 province with a year-on-year decline.
Source: OAG · November 2026 scheduled departing capacity by province
Top 10 Chinese airlines by seat capacity — November 2026
| 1. | China Southern Airlines | 9,835,470 | 9,834,523 | 0.0% | 15% |
| 2. | China Eastern Airlines | 9,822,794 | 9,341,691 | +5.2% | 15% |
| 3. | Air China | 7,237,475 | 7,592,841 | -4.7% | 11% |
| 4. | Hainan Airlines | 3,504,932 | 3,674,901 | -4.6% | 5% |
| 5. | Shenzhen Airlines | 3,369,399 | 3,030,299 | +11.2% | 5% |
| 6. | Sichuan Airlines | 3,284,828 | 2,801,139 | +17.3% | 5% |
| 7. | Xiamen Airlines Company | 2,828,654 | 2,875,366 | -1.6% | 4% |
| 8. | Shandong Airlines | 2,653,633 | 2,613,962 | +1.5% | 4% |
| 9. | Spring Airlines | 2,554,026 | 2,312,784 | +10.4% | 4% |
| 10. | China Express Airlines | 1,494,011 | 1,399,391 | +6.8% | 2% |
Source: OAG · November 2026 scheduled capacity data
Flight data insights and aviation analysis focused on China's airline market , updated monthly with data powered by OAG's Schedules Analyser.
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Domestic capacity accounts for 82% of all seats to, from and within China this month, with 66m seats.
Overall capacity grew by 3.4% vs last year, with domestic capacity increasing by 2.9% and international capacity increasing by 5.7%.