Baiyun Airport prepares for surge in passengers during Canton Fair

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, an aviation hub in Guangdong province, is estimated to handle more than 50,000 inbound and outbound passengers daily during the upcoming 137th China Import and Export Fair, with peak days reaching 55,000 passengers, said a statement released by the Baiyun Immigration Inspection Station on Friday.

Passenger traffic is expected to reach a month-on-month growth of about 15 percent and a year-on-year growth of 25.8 percent, with the proportion of inbound foreign travelers exceeding 50 percent of the total inbound passenger flow, the statement said.

The peak inbound dates are expected to be on April 20 and 27, while the peak outbound dates are expected on April 18, 25 and May 1, it said.

The China Import and Export Fair, commonly known as the Canton Fair, is China's largest trade event held twice a year in spring and fall in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province. The coming spring event will take place between April 15 and May 5, in three stages.

According to the statement, as of Thursday, the airport had handled more than 410,000 inbound and outbound passenger visits in April, with more than 3,000 international flights arriving and departing, making it one of the three busiest airports in the mainland.

The number of inbound foreign visitors has reached 80,000 passengers, up 35.4 percent year-on-year, with business visa holders up by more than 64.6 percent year-on-year, it said.

Since April, the airport has added five pairs of international flights and resumed another pair to meet the growing demand.

During the Canton Fair, the daily average number of international passenger flights is expected to exceed 300, marking a year-on-year increase of 27 percent.

International flight ticket sales to Guangzhou have risen between 6 percent and 23 percent, with some popular flights already fully booked, said the statement.

The Baiyun Immigration Inspection Station has taken the initiative to inquire in advance about flight operation plans and ticket sales from various airlines stationed in the airport and ground agents to introduce effective measures to help manage peak passenger flow, it said.

The station will dynamically open inspection windows, flexibly adjust channel layout, and carry out passenger flow classification and diversion, allowing foreign Canton Fair attendees to go through entry and exit procedures with ease.