During the 2026 National Day holiday, which ran from October 1 to October 7, domestic airlines operated a total of 102,900 passenger flights, marking a 1.70% increase compared with the same period last year, according to the latest data from Flight Master.

International and regional routes operated 17,000 passenger flights, up 1.56% year on year. Overall operations showed a pattern of easing in the middle of the holiday and picking up again toward the end.

Among airports, Guangzhou Baiyun led in total traffic and domestic flight volume, while Shanghai Pudong led in international and regional flight volume.

On ticket prices, the average tax-inclusive one-way fare for domestic routes was around 960 yuan, up 9% year on year. For international and regional routes, the average tax-inclusive one-way fare was around 1,850 yuan, up 6% year on year.

At the airport level, domestic hubs showed clear divergence in performance. Beijing Daxing, Urumqi Tianshan, Haikou Meilan and Chengdu Shuangliu all posted double-digit growth, while Shenzhen Bao'an, Zhengzhou Xinzheng, Kunming Changshui and Xi'an Xianyang recorded year-on-year declines.

Shanghai Pudong rose to second place domestically from sixth last year, while Shenzhen Bao'an fell to eighth from second.

The top 10 airports by domestic flight volume were Guangzhou Baiyun, Shanghai Pudong, Chengdu Tianfu, Beijing Daxing, Beijing Capital, Chongqing Jiangbei, Xi'an Xianyang, Shenzhen Bao'an, Kunming Changshui and Hangzhou Xiaoshan.

International and regional flights were highly concentrated, with the top five airports accounting for about 55.98% of the national total and the top ten accounting for 72.47%.

Shanghai Pudong remained clearly ahead, although its flights fell by 212 year on year, while Guangzhou Baiyun added 273 flights.

Urumqi Tianshan, Jinan Yaoqiang and Chongqing Jiangbei grew relatively quickly, but their scale remained notably smaller than that of the top three gateway airports.

The top 10 airports by international and regional flight volume were Shanghai Pudong, Guangzhou Baiyun, Beijing Capital, Shenzhen Bao'an, Chengdu Tianfu, Beijing Daxing, Hangzhou Xiaoshan, Xiamen Gaoqi, Kunming Changshui and Qingdao Jiaodong.