With the opening of Terminal 3, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport’s annual passenger capacity has increased to 120 million. Its five-runway, parallel operation layout is expected to significantly boost takeoff and landing efficiency.
Despite such a large-scale expansion, no foreign airlines have yet moved into T3.
According to official information, the first carriers to relocate to the new terminal are China Eastern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, China United Airlines, Juneyao Air, and Okay Airways—all domestic airlines. China Eastern’s international flights, however, remain at Terminal 1, leaving the vast international section of T3 still without any foreign presence.
From a market perspective, T3’s initial operations focus mainly on domestic routes, with only 21 flights taking off or landing there on October 30. The number is expected to increase gradually.
With no foreign carriers yet operating from T3, Baiyun Airport’s expansion has effectively become a new arena for competition among Chinese airlines.
Newcomers like China Eastern and Juneyao will now compete head-to-head with carriers still based in Terminals 1 and 2—such as China Southern and Hainan Airlines—for domestic passengers. The battle is intensifying, from fare discounts to service upgrades, as airlines race to capture market share.
The additional capacity brought by the airport’s five runways could have been leveraged to open more international routes and attract foreign carriers. For now, it mainly serves as a tool for domestic airlines to increase flight frequency within China.
