Wedoany.com Report on Feb 24th, According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, during the 2026 Spring Festival holiday (February 15-23, 2026, lasting 9 days), Chinese civil aviation handled a total of 22.05 million passenger trips, averaging 2.45 million per day. This represents a daily average increase of 7.7% compared to the same 9-day period during the 2025 Spring Festival travel rush (January 27 - February 4, 2025). A total of 171,000 flights were operated, averaging 18,956 per day, a 4.4% increase compared to the same period in 2025 (which averaged 18,154 flights daily). The flight punctuality rate was 95.8%, a 0.6 percentage point increase from the 95.2% rate during the same period of the 2025 Spring Festival travel rush.
During the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, China's civil aviation market operated in a generally stable and orderly manner.
Domestically:
Top airports mainly included Guangzhou Baiyun, Shanghai Pudong, Shenzhen Bao'an, Beijing Capital, Chengdu Tianfu, Beijing Daxing, Chongqing Jiangbei, Kunming Changshui, Xi'an Xianyang, and Hangzhou Xiaoshan (the top 10 airports by passenger throughput).
Top routes (one-way) mainly included Shanghai Hongqiao - Beijing Capital, Shanghai Hongqiao - Shenzhen Bao'an, Shanghai Hongqiao - Guangzhou Baiyun, Shenzhen Bao'an - Shanghai Hongqiao, Guangzhou Baiyun - Shanghai Hongqiao, Beijing Capital - Shanghai Hongqiao, Shenzhen Bao'an - Beijing Capital, Beijing Capital - Shenzhen Bao'an, Guangzhou Baiyun - Hangzhou Xiaoshan, and Harbin Taiping - Shanghai Pudong (the top 10 flight segments by passenger volume).
Internationally:
Top airports for inbound and outbound travel mainly included Shanghai Pudong, Guangzhou Baiyun, Beijing Capital, Chengdu Tianfu, Shenzhen Bao'an, Xiamen Gaoqi, Kunming Changshui, Beijing Daxing, Hangzhou Xiaoshan, and Chongqing Jiangbei.
Popular travel destinations were concentrated in neighboring tourist countries such as Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam. Among these, passenger traffic to Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, the Maldives, and Kazakhstan saw significant year-on-year increases. Driven by the extended holiday, passenger numbers on long-haul routes to countries like Turkey, Australia, Russia, and New Zealand also experienced substantial growth.
In addition, the inbound tourism market continued to grow, with significant numbers of travelers arriving in China from countries including South Korea, Vietnam, Russia, and Mongolia.
