China’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) officially opened the 2025/26 winter-spring flight season on 26 October, signalling the most ambitious expansion of commercial air connectivity since the pandemic. From now until 28 March 2026, 210 domestic and foreign carriers have secured slots to operate about 119,500 passenger and cargo flights every week—up 1.3 % on last winter. International capacity is where the real growth lies: 191 airlines will mount 21,427 weekly flights to 83 countries, a year-on-year jump of 10.8 %.
The big Chinese hubs are leading the charge. Beijing Capital expects an average of 1,243 daily movements, including 166 international services. Beijing Daxing will see 979 flights a day, 82 of which are international or cross-strait. Guangzhou, Shanghai Pudong and other leading gateways together now handle 52.1 % of China’s overseas traffic, up 8.6 points in twelve months. Airlines are using that additional headroom to restore—and in some cases exceed—pre-Covid networks. Air China alone will operate 452 routes this season, with 127 international or regional legs and 1,725 daily flights in total.
Several long-dormant markets make their comeback in the timetable. Passenger flights between China and India resume after a five-year hiatus, while completely new routes will link Chinese cities with Muscat, Doha, Tbilisi and Buenos Aires. On the cargo side, fresh links to Panama, Chile and Switzerland highlight demand from e-commerce exporters looking for fast, door-to-door solutions.
The increase reflects Beijing’s twin priorities of economic recovery and high-level opening-up. Visa-free entry schemes now cover 76 nations, and transit-without-visa policies have been extended to 55 more. By pairing relaxed entry rules with additional lift, China hopes to lure back foreign tourists, reboot high-value business travel and keep supply chains flowing smoothly.
For multinationals and mobility managers the implications are immediate. Assignees will find it easier to book direct flights rather than circuitous one-stop routings, reducing total travel time and cost. Corporate travel buyers should, however, monitor seat-inventory releases closely; pent-up demand during Golden Week and other peak periods has already driven yields sharply higher on some trunk routes. Companies moving freight should also revisit their preferred-carrier agreements, as more wide-body capacity on passenger services means additional belly-hold space that can undercut dedicated freighter rates.
The big Chinese hubs are leading the charge. Beijing Capital expects an average of 1,243 daily movements, including 166 international services. Beijing Daxing will see 979 flights a day, 82 of which are international or cross-strait. Guangzhou, Shanghai Pudong and other leading gateways together now handle 52.1 % of China’s overseas traffic, up 8.6 points in twelve months. Airlines are using that additional headroom to restore—and in some cases exceed—pre-Covid networks. Air China alone will operate 452 routes this season, with 127 international or regional legs and 1,725 daily flights in total.
Several long-dormant markets make their comeback in the timetable. Passenger flights between China and India resume after a five-year hiatus, while completely new routes will link Chinese cities with Muscat, Doha, Tbilisi and Buenos Aires. On the cargo side, fresh links to Panama, Chile and Switzerland highlight demand from e-commerce exporters looking for fast, door-to-door solutions.
The increase reflects Beijing’s twin priorities of economic recovery and high-level opening-up. Visa-free entry schemes now cover 76 nations, and transit-without-visa policies have been extended to 55 more. By pairing relaxed entry rules with additional lift, China hopes to lure back foreign tourists, reboot high-value business travel and keep supply chains flowing smoothly.
For multinationals and mobility managers the implications are immediate. Assignees will find it easier to book direct flights rather than circuitous one-stop routings, reducing total travel time and cost. Corporate travel buyers should, however, monitor seat-inventory releases closely; pent-up demand during Golden Week and other peak periods has already driven yields sharply higher on some trunk routes. Companies moving freight should also revisit their preferred-carrier agreements, as more wide-body capacity on passenger services means additional belly-hold space that can undercut dedicated freighter rates.
