Changsha Huanghua International Airport during the Spring Festival travel rush. (Photo provided by the correspondent)

During the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, the Hunan Airport Management Group handled a total of 944,000 passenger trips, representing a 1.2% year-on-year increase, while supporting 6,500 flight operations. The peak travel day occurred on February 22, with nearly 120,000 passenger trips.

As a key aviation hub, Changsha airport handled 805,000 passenger trips during the holiday, a 0.7% year-on-year increase. Hunan's airports allocated their operational capacity to manage a surge in passenger volumes, with a focus on increasing flight frequencies to popular destinations such as Beijing, Hangzhou, and Wenzhou. Four premium express air routes between Hunan and Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan, and Sichuan achieved average daily flight frequencies of 53, 40, 37, and 33 respectively. Additionally, wide-body aircrafts were deployed on popular routes linking destinations such as Beijing and Sanya to enhance travel comfortability.

Regional airports coordinated efforts, with Zhangjiajie, Changde, and Chenzhou airports increasing flight frequencies to key cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu. These airports handled 138,000 passenger trips and 1,188 flights in total, representing year-on-year increases of 4.0% and 1.1%, respectively.

International and regional routes demonstrated robust recovery momentum. Hunan launched new routes from Changsha to Yangon, Phuket, and Jakarta, while increasing frequencies to popular destinations like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. During the nine-day Spring Festival holiday, Hunan's airports handled 38,000 international passenger trips and 260 international flights, marking year-on-year increases of 21.6% and 22.8%, respectively.

Airports across the province prioritized passenger travel experience by adding volunteer service stations in key areas, dynamically launching temporary service channels and fast-track channels for late-arriving passengers. Changsha airport's Terminal 1 promoted its 15-minute boarding service. To address the "last mile" problem for passengers, airports coordinated with high-speed rail and maglev authorities, as well as ride-hailing platforms to optimize nighttime transport connections and extend check-in hours at the Maglev City Air Terminal. Special check-in counters for certain groups were established, and contingency plans for flight diversions and delays were refined to ensure safe and convenient travels for all passengers.

Changsha Huanghua International Airport during the Spring Festival travel rush. (Photo provided by the correspondent)

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: hunantoday