CHINA AVIATION MARKET

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

Track the Chinese aviation market through data insights including:

• The busiest airports
• Top Chinese airlines
• The busiest domestic air routes in China
• China's biggest cities for air capacity
• The top 20 countries Chinese travellers fly to
• And more

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 this month, with 3.2m seats, a 13% increase in capacity vs last year.
• Shenzhen (SZX) and Beijing Capital (PEK) airports remain close second and third busiest airports, with 2.9m and 2.8m seats respectively.
• Capacity reduced by 4% at Beijing Capital International vs last year.
  

What are China's Top Airlines?

• China Southern Airlines is the busiest airline, representing 16% of the domestic market with 11m seats in September 2025.
• China Eastern Airlines holds 14% share of the domestic market with 9.8m seats in September 2025.
• Percentage wise, Spring Airlines continues to make the biggest increase in capacity again vs last year, with a 24% increase in domestic capacity vs September 2024.  This reflects its robust financial position and the high demand environment.
• TianJin Airlines has overtaken Juneyao Airlines with 562 more seats. Juneyao Airlines' capacity continues to decline by a further 10% this month.

Which are the Most Flown Airline Routes in China?

• Despite a further decline in capacity on the Beijing Capital Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao (PEK-SHA) route by 9%, it is the busiest route in September 2025 with 600k seats.
• Shanghai Hongqiao to Shenzhen (SHA - SZX)  is China's second busiest route this month with 577k seats, 5% more capacity than September 2024.
• The greatest capacity increases were on the Guangzhou to Hangzhou (CAN-HGH) route, increasing by 9% vs last year, followed by Guangzhou to Beijing (CAN-PEK) and Chengdu to Shenzhen (CTU-SZN) both of which increased by 8% vs last year.

Which Chinese Cities are Key For Air Travel?

• Beijing remains the busiest city this month with 5.1m seats through the 2 main airports, representing 7% of the market.
• Capacity through Shanghai, the second busiest city with 4.6m seats, also represents 7% share of the market.
• Capacity in the city of Guangzhou increased at the fastest rate of 13% vs last year.

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