According to China Southern Airlines, it operated more than 200,000 passenger flights and carried over 33.98 million passengers during the July–August 2026 summer travel peak.
Domestic routes saw particularly strong demand to northeastern, eastern, southwestern and Xinjiang destinations. Average seat occupancy exceeded 90 percent on routes including Shenzhen-Shanghai Hongqiao, Guiyang/Chongqing-Shanghai Pudong, Urumqi-Taiyuan and Shenyang-Yinchuan.
International and regional services were also heavily used, with routes from Beijing Daxing and Guangzhou to Moscow, as well as several China-South Korea services, recording average load factors above 90 percent.
The airline also expanded its "15-minute boarding" service, covering all domestic departures at its five major hubs in Guangzhou, Beijing Daxing, Urumqi, Shenzhen and Shanghai Hongqiao. The service was extended to selected routes at other airports, covering 273 routes with an average of 845 flights a day.
Unaccompanied minors were another focus during the summer peak. China Southern carried more than 120,000 such passengers in July and August. At its Guangzhou hub alone, 38,000 unaccompanied children travelled via the airport, up 20 percent from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, China Southern Air Logistics transported more than 249,000 tonnes of cargo during the two-month peak, supported by its four major hubs in Guangzhou-Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing Daxing and Urumqi.
Reporter: Zeng Xiangxing
Photo: China Southern Airlines
