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) is China's busiest domestic airport this month, with 3.5m seats, a 2% increase in capacity vs last year.
• Shenzhen (SZN) and Beijing Capital (PEK) airports keep their place as second and third busiest airports, with 3.1m and 3m seats respectively.
• Kunming is once again seeing the fastest growth this month, with capacity up 6% compared to last year.
  

What are China's Top Airlines?

• China Southern Airlines is the busiest airline, representing 15% of the domestic market with 12.3m seats in August 2025. Following behind it is China Eastern Airlines, which holds 14% share of the domestic market with 11.4m seats again this month.
• Percentage-wise, Spring Airlines continues to make the biggest increase in capacity, with a 14% rise in domestic capacity vs August 2024.
• Juneyao Airlines reduced capacity this month by 11% vs last year. The airline has been shifting resources from domestic to international routes, particularly European and regional sectors, reflecting the airline’s broader growth strategy.
  

Which are the Most Flown Airline Routes in China?

• Shanghai Hongqiao to Shenzhen (SHA - SZN) remains China's busiest route this month with 631k seats, 9% more capacity than August 2024.
• Capacity on the Beijing Capital Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao (PEK-SHA) route declined by a further 8% with 596k seats in August 2025.
• The greatest capacity reduction was on the Hangzhou to Shenzhen (HGH-SZN) route, declining by 11% vs last year, followed by Guangzhou to Shanghai Hongqiao (CAN - SHA), which reduced by 10% vs last year.
• Capacity on the Shanghai Hongqiao to Shenzhen (SHA - SZN) and Chongqing to Shenzhen (CKG-SZN) routes both increased at the fastest rate of 9% and 8% respectively this month.
  

Which Chinese Cities are Key For Air Travel?

• Beijing remains China's busiest city this month with 5.5m seats through its 2 main airports, representing 7% of the market.
• Shanghai is the second busiest city, with 4.9 million seats and holding a 6% market share.
• Capacity at the city of Kunming increased at the fastest rate again this month, with an increase of 6% vs August 2024.
  

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