Beyond Beijing and Shanghai: How China’s International Aviation Network Has Evolved

According to RDC Apex schedule data, China’s aviation market has undergone significant expansion over the past decade. In 2016, scheduled airline capacity across mainland China stood at approximately 1.28 billion seats, distributed across 214 airports. By 2026, capacity had increased to 1.77 billion seats, 38.5% above 2016 levels, while the number of airports recording scheduled services had risen to 262.

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This expansion has also been accompanied by changes in where capacity is concentrated. In 2016, Beijing Capital was China’s largest airport by a considerable margin, with almost 120 million scheduled seats, followed by Shanghai Pudong and Guangzhou Baiyun. A decade later, Guangzhou has moved into first place and Shenzhen has climbed from fifth to fourth, while the opening of Beijing Daxing and Chengdu Tianfu has redistributed capacity across two of the country’s largest metropolitan aviation markets.

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The expansion of both capacity and airport infrastructure has also influenced the wider landscape of China’s international connectivity. Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have traditionally served as the country’s principal international gateways, while the broader development of China’s aviation network has created the potential for international capacity to become more geographically distributed.

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Using RDC Apex scheduled airline data, this analysis examines how China’s international aviation network has evolved over the past decade, identifying which gateways have gained capacity and market share, the airlines and markets driving these changes, and whether international connectivity is becoming more geographically distributed beyond China’s traditional gateways.

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A Decade of Uneven Growth in China’s Aviation Market

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As shown in Chart 1, China’s international aviation market expanded steadily in the years preceding the pandemic. According to RDC Apex schedule data, international departing seat capacity increased from 128.4 million seats in 2016 to 168.8 million in 2019, representing growth of 31.5% in just three years.

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The significant reduction in international services between 2020 and 2022 is also clearly visible in Chart 1, followed by a strong recovery from 2023. International capacity reached 126.9 million seats in 2024, 145.2 million in 2025 and 149.6 million in 2026. Despite this recovery, international capacity in 2026 remains 11.3% below its 2019 peak, although it is 16.5% above 2016 levels.

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This contrasts with the domestic market, where scheduled capacity increased from 1.11 billion seats in 2016 to 1.59 billion in 2026, an increase of approximately 43%. As a result, international seat capacity represent around 8.4% of China’s total scheduled capacity in 2026, compared with approximately 10% in both 2016 and 2019.

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For the purposes of this analysis, services from mainland China to Hong Kong, Macao and Chinese Taipei are classified separately as regional capacity, rather than being included within either domestic or international services. As shown in Chart 1, this segment has also recovered more slowly, with 29.4 million seats in 2026, approximately 20% below 2019 levels.

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The figures therefore show that while China’s overall aviation market is considerably larger than it was a decade ago, its international network has not expanded at the same pace. By 2026, international capacity remains below its pre-pandemic peak and represents a smaller share of China’s total scheduled capacity than in either 2016 or 2019, highlighting the increasingly domestic orientation of the country’s aviation growth.

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China’s International Gateway Landscape 

 

Table 1 shows that China’s international gateway ranking has changed considerably over the past decade. While Shanghai Pudong has remained the country’s largest international gateway throughout the period, Guangzhou has overtaken Beijing Capital to move into second place, while Shenzhen has risen from seventh in 2016 to fourth in 2026.

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Some of the most significant ranking changes reflect the development of new airports rather than entirely new international markets. Beijing Daxing, which had only 116,497 international seats in 2019, ranks sixth in 2026 with 6.25 million seats, while Beijing Capital has fallen from 29.7 million to 20.0 million. However, this partly reflects the redistribution of capacity across Beijing’s two major airports. Combined, Beijing Capital and Daxing offer approximately 26.2 million international seats in 2026, meaning Beijing as a city remains ahead of Guangzhou’s 23.2 million, although its combined capacity is still below the approximately 29.8 million seats offered in 2019. A similar redistribution is evident in Chengdu, where Tianfu ranks fifth in 2026 with 7.04 million international seats, largely replacing the international role previously performed by Chengdu Shuangliu.

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Beyond these airport transfers, recovery has been uneven. Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xiamen have all exceeded their 2019 international capacity, while several established gateways remain substantially below pre-pandemic levels. Tianjin provides one of the clearest examples, falling from 9th in 2019 to 25th in 2026, with capacity declining from 3.43 million to 0.90 million seats. Wuhan, Changsha and Dalian have also recorded substantial reductions.

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China’s International Market Mix 

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Table 2 shows that the composition of China’s international markets has changed considerably since 2016, with the recovery following very different patterns across regions. Asia Pacific remains by far the largest international market, with 116.1 million seats in 2026. However, this remains around 11% below 2019 levels. The composition has also shifted: the Republic of Korea has returned to first place, while Malaysia has risen from fifth in 2016 to fourth in 2026. In contrast, capacity to Japan and Thailand remains substantially below their 2019 peaks.

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Europe presents a markedly different picture. Total capacity reached 20.3 million seats in 2026, 21% above 2019 and 62% above 2016, but growth has increasingly shifted away from some of the traditionally largest European markets. The UK has moved from third place in 2016 to become China’s largest European market in 2026, with 3.44 million seats, 43% above 2019. Italy and Turkey have also expanded strongly, reaching 2.24 million and 2.10 million seats respectively.

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One of the most significant changes is Spain, which does not appear among the European Top 5 but has grown from just 237,000 seats in 2016 to 653,000 in 2019 and 1.81 million in 2026, making it China’s sixth-largest European market. Belgium and Hungary have similarly expanded from relatively small bases. This contrasts with Germany, France and the Netherlands, all of which remain below their 2019 capacity.

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​Elsewhere, Africa has expanded strongly, reaching 2.74 million seats, with particularly rapid growth in Egypt alongside continued Ethiopian expansion. Middle Eastern capacity remains broadly comparable with 2019, although Saudi Arabia has risen significantly within the regional ranking. North America has experienced the largest decline among China’s international regions, with capacity falling from 13.44 million seats in 2019 to just 4.65 million in 2026, a reduction of around 65%, driven by substantially lower capacity to the United States and Canada. Mexico is the exception within North America, although it remains a relatively small market, capacity has increased by 97% compared with 2019 and by 211% compared with 2016, reaching approximately 241,000 seats in 2026.

 

 

 

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The Growing Role of Chinese Airlines

 

Looking at airlines, the evolution of China’s international network has also been accompanied by a significant shift in which carriers provide that capacity as Table 3 shows. 

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In Asia Pacific, Chinese carriers have strengthened their position considerably. Three of the Top 5 airlines were Chinese in 2016, accounting for 32.6% of regional capacity, rising to four and 34.8% in 2019. By 2026, all five leading airlines are Chinese, collectively providing 51.4 million seats and 44.3% of capacity. Korean Air and Asiana, which ranked fifth and fourth respectively in 2016, have consequently fallen to sixth and seventh in 2026.

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The shift is even more pronounced in Europe, where the share represented by Chinese airlines in the Top 5 increased from 40.3% in 2016 to 52.8% in 2019 and 71.8% in 2026. Air China has remained the market leader throughout the period, more than doubling its capacity from 3.04 million to 6.63 million seats. In contrast, Lufthansa has fallen from second to seventh place, with capacity declining by 56%, while Turkish Airlines has risen from seventh to fifth.

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The Middle East remains an exception, with Emirates and Qatar Airways retaining the top two positions throughout the period. However, Etihad has fallen from third in 2016 and 2019 to eighth in 2026, while China Eastern has entered the Top 5.

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A less pronounced example of Chinese airline dominance can be seen in North America, where China's three largest carriers remain among the leading operators but none occupies first place. United Airlines is the largest operator in 2026, providing approximately 724,000 seats, equivalent to 15.6% of all China-North America capacity. This is consistent with the findings of our previous article, ‘Who Has the Most Connected Network? Comparing America's Big Three Airlines’, in which United recorded the highest international connectivity index among the three major US network carriers.

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Conclusion

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China’s aviation market in 2026 is considerably larger than it was a decade ago, but international growth has followed a very different path from the domestic market. Although international capacity has recovered strongly since 2023, it remains below its 2019 peak and now represents a smaller share of China’s overall aviation market. The international network itself has also changed, with capacity shifting between gateways following the development of Beijing Daxing and Chengdu Tianfu, and with very different levels of recovery across regions. Europe and Africa have grown beyond 2019 levels, while Asia Pacific remains below its previous peak and North America has experienced the largest decline.

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The airlines providing this connectivity have changed as well. Chinese carriers have strengthened their position across several international markets, particularly in Asia Pacific and Europe, while Gulf airlines continue to play a leading role in the Middle East. Overall, China’s international aviation market is not simply returning to where it was before the pandemic. Instead, a different network is taking shape, with capacity spread differently across airports and international markets and Chinese airlines playing a much greater role in connecting China with the rest of the world.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​