In China, a major 'tectonic shift' occurred in the airport passenger rankings for the first half of this year, with Guangzhou Baiyun Airport overtaking Shanghai Pudong Airport, which had previously held the top spot. Guangzhou Baiyun Airport overtook Shanghai Pudong Airport, which had previously held the top spot, reclaiming its position as the busiest airport in China. This was reported by Guomin Jinglue, a Chinese economic analysis media outlet.

Despite being a single airport, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport is showing momentum, with its passenger numbers approaching the combined total of Chengdu Tianfu Airport and Shuangliu Airport, the two major airports in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Guangzhou Baiyun Airport is expected to single-handedly push Guangzhou City to become the 3rd city in China with the most air travel passengers within the year.

The landscape of the top 20 airports also changed. Shanghai Hongqiao Airport surpassed Chongqing Jiangbei Airport, while airports such as Haikou, Nanjing, and Urumqi also climbed in the rankings. On the other hand, among the 41 airports in China with over 10 million annual passengers, 18 airports, including Changsha, Wuhan, Taiyuan, and Xi'an, saw a decrease in passenger numbers. Even airports within the top 10, such as Chengdu Tianfu Airport and Kunming Changshui Airport, fell below last year's figures. While one reason for this was the reduction of some routes due to soaring fuel costs amidst rising tensions in the Middle East, the overall number of air passengers nationwide still maintained a positive growth of 1%. This indicates not a decrease in overall air travel demand, but rather a phenomenon of passengers concentrating further at top-tier airports, and an intensifying battle for passengers in inland areas due to the development of the high-speed rail network.

There are many factors behind Guangzhou Baiyun Airport's surge in the Greater Bay Area, an area teeming with strong competitors like Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Firstly, at the end of last year, the world's largest Terminal 3 opened, expanding its capacity. The V-shaped economic recovery, with Guangzhou City's GDP growth rate for the first quarter of 2026 (January-March) ranking first among 'first-tier cities' (large cities with strong nationwide influence), drove demand.

Even more decisive was the geopolitical shift. International flights account for nearly half of Shanghai Pudong Airport's operations, indicating a high dependence on Japan, South Korea, Europe, and the US. Since last year, the reduction of routes between Japan and China by more than half directly impacted Shanghai Pudong Airport. In contrast, Guangzhou is the 'gateway to southern China,' with strong ties to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and other 'Belt and Road' and Global South regions. Economic trade with these emerging regions served as a catalyst, leading to a 34% year-on-year increase in foreign arrivals and departures, significantly exceeding the national average.

Meanwhile, airports in the six major provincial capitals in central China—Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Hefei, Changsha, Taiyuan, and Nanchang—are all struggling. The reason is their fierce struggle against competition from high-speed rail. Wuhan and Zhengzhou are among the nation's leading high-speed rail terminals, with lines crisscrossing in a 'rice' character shape. Generally, for travel under 800 kilometers, high-speed rail offers overwhelming price competitiveness. From the perspective of these central provincial capitals, almost all major Chinese cities are within a 1,200-kilometer radius. Therefore, it is inevitable that air transport cannot compete.

In addition, there are policy-related influences. Under the international aviation terminal system currently being developed by the Chinese government, long-haul international routes are concentrated in the top-tier group, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, while all airports in central China are designated as 'others.' As a result, central China lost its strength in air travel demand but gained prosperity through its high-speed rail network. Conversely, Kunming, Urumqi, and Harbin, which are geographically remote from many major Chinese cities and thus less affected by high-speed rail, are experiencing robust air travel demand. Only a few megacities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu can benefit from both. (Translation/Editing by Hayato Kisaragi)