Record-breaking passenger and cargo volumes at Guangdong's airports in 2025 provide a clear answer to how Guangdong goods reach global markets: through one of China's most extensive and fastest-growing aviation networks.
Official figures show that Guangdong's airports handled more than 180 million passengers in 2025, ranking first nationwide for annual throughput. At the same time, cargo volumes across major hubs continued to expand, reinforcing the province's role as a gateway for trade, manufacturing, and cross-border logistics—a key foundation of the "Guang Goods Global Reach (广货行天下)" initiative, a year-long campaign kicked off in Foshan on January 15, 2026, that promotes Guangdong-made products through coordinated marketing, e-commerce partnerships, and logistics support to expand their presence in domestic and overseas markets.
Aviation hubs power global reach
At the center of the network, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) handled 83.59 million passengers, up 9.45% year on year, while cargo and mail throughput reached 2.44 million tonnes. International passenger traffic rose sharply to 17.45 million, accounting for more than 20% of total traffic. The opening of Terminal 3 and a fifth runway, along with a new domestic cargo terminal, significantly expanded the airport’s capacity to move both people and goods.
Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport (SZX) reinforced Guangdong’s export-oriented logistics strength, processing 2.05 million tonnes of cargo and mail, including over 1 million tonnes of international cargo, making it the third airport on the Chinese mainland to reach that milestone. Passenger traffic climbed to 66 million, supported by the launch of a third runway.
Beyond the two mega hubs, regional airports also played an increasingly important role in supporting Guangdong-made products entering overseas markets.
Zhuhai Jinwan Airport posted its highest-ever passenger volume and opened its first scheduled international cargo route to Delhi.
Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport surpassed 10 million passengers, expanding links to Southeast Asia, including Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, Zhanjiang, Huizhou and Foshan airports reported solid growth in cargo and passenger traffic, improving air access for manufacturing clusters across the province.
Reporter: Zeng Xiangxing
Poster: Lai Meiya
Editor: Hu Nan, James Campion, Shen He
