Its 9.7% increase from the same period last year also made it the fastest growing of the world's top 30 airports, according to Guangdong News.

It surpassed Shanghai Pudong International Airport, which handled 66.58 million passengers.

Shanghai held China's top spot in 2024 and 2025, taking over from Guangzhou, which had been the country's busiest airport for four straight years when it was also the world’s busiest, as reported by Guangzhou International.

According to China Daily, the jump in numbers follows a 53.77 billion yuan (US$8.1 billion) expansion that began in 2020 and concluded in October 2025 with the opening of Terminal 3 and a fifth runway that expanded annual passenger capacity to 120 million.

Authorities project total passenger traffic to reach 90 million this year.

Inside terminal 2 of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangdong Province, China, April 20, 2018. Photo by Reuters

A key factor behind Guangzhou's growth is its focus on specific international destinations.

While Shanghai Pudong concentrates heavily on traditional long-haul routes to Europe, the United States, Japan, and South Korea, Baiyun prioritizes connections to Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Oceania.

From January to August 2026, the airport added or expanded more than 30 international routes, connecting to over 100 overseas destinations, including new flights to Hai Phong (Vietnam), Sihanoukville (Cambodia), Kuching (Malaysia), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), and Luanda (Angola).

Frequent travelers interviewed by the South China Morning Post cited convenience and competitive pricing as the main reasons for choosing the hub.

Gao Zhendong, a businessman who regularly flies between Hainan and Vietnam, said the multiple daily direct flights between Guangzhou and Hanoi make last-minute business trips efficient and affordable.

Cai Mingdong, a doctoral student commuting between Ningbo and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), appreciated the short layover times and lower ticket costs when connecting through Guangzhou.

Authorities attribute the airport's success to Guangzhou’s large population, robust foreign trade, and convenient transport links in the form high-speed rail, intercity trains, metro lines, and expressways.

David Wong, a lecturer at Hang Seng University in Hong Kong, who studies air transport, told the South China Morning Post that improved infrastructure draws more passenger traffic and trade activity to the region.