China’s major airports delivered healthy growth in international passenger volumes in 2018, according to the latest information supplied by m1nd-set’s Business 1ntelligence Service (B1S), developed with IATA and ARC’s ‘Direct Data Service’ (DDS) database.

Shanghai Pudong handled 34 million international travelers, a solid 8% rise compared to 2017. Excluding Chinese passengers, who are 81% of traffic, key nationalities were from Hong Kong (13%), Japan (13%), USA (10%), South Korea (7%), Taiwan (6%), Canada and India (4%), with Germany, Singapore and Australia at 3% each. Just 7% were in transit overall. Key destination airports included Hong Kong, Osaka Kansai, Taipei, Incheon, Tokyo Narita, Bangkok and Singapore.

Beijing Capital International Airport handled 25 million international passengers in 2018, a rise of 6.3% year-on-year. Excluding Chinese passengers, who represent 80% of the total, key nationalities include Hong Kong (14%), USA (12%), South Korea and Japan (6% each), followed by Canada and Germany (5% each), UK (4%), Taiwan and France (3% each). Most of the traffic was originating and departing, with 11% in transit. Key destination airports (departing) included Hong Kong, Tokyo Haneda, Incheon, Bangkok, Taipei, Singapore, London Heathrow and Los Angeles.

Another rising power of China’s aviation market, Guangzhou, had 15 million international travellers in 2018, up by 10% year-on-year. Excluding the 72% proportion of Chinese, key nationalities were USA, Australia and Vietnam (7% each), followed by India (6%), South Korea and Japan (4% each), and Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan at 3% each. Crucially, around 15% of travellers were premium (business) travellers, a figure well above Beijing or Shanghai. Key destination airports for departures included Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Incheon and Phnom Penh.

We also profile the host airport for the China’s Century event and a fast-growing destination serving Hainan Island: Haikou Meilan. International passengers numbered one million in 2018, but this figure grew by 16%. Apart from the 82% of Chinese travelers, the remainder were from Hong Kong (47% of non-Mainland traffic), Taiwan (17%), Singapore and Thailand (9% each), and Indonesia (4%). The major destination airports from Haikou Meilan were Hong Kong, Taipei, Bangkok and Singapore.