In 2025, the airports in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) in southern China had an outstanding performance. The cluster handled over 230 million passenger trips and nearly 9. 72 million tonnes of cargo and mail, solidifying its position as one of the world’s leading aviation hubs.
Experts believe that the GBA’s aviation hub cluster has significantly expanded its capacity, playing an important role in China’s modernization and high-standard opening-up policies. This highlights the region’s continuous institutional innovation, improved regional coordination, and growing ability to allocate global resources.
The main hubs in the cluster, namely Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, had a particularly successful year. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport achieved a historic milestone in 2025, with a record-high passenger throughput of 83. 59 million and cargo and mail throughput of 2. 44 million tonnes.
Shenzhen Baoan International Airport also saw an increase in passenger traffic, handling 66. 49 million trips in 2025. Hong Kong International Airport, the world’s busiest cargo airport, had a 15% increase in passenger numbers, reaching 61 million last year. Its cargo volume also grew by 2. 7% to 5. 07 million tonnes.
Airports in Zhuhai, Macao, and Huizhou also showed strong growth momentum in 2025, with their cargo and mail throughputs increasing by 15%, 1. 08%, and 25% respectively.
The GBA’s impressive economic scale and global connections have contributed to the robust demand for air travel and logistics. Its total economic output reached 14. 79 trillion yuan (2. 12 trillion US dollars) in 2024, surpassing that of the New York and San Francisco Bay Areas and placing it among the top global tier alongside the Tokyo Bay Area. It is expected to exceed 15 trillion yuan in 2025.
Compared to other major bay area airport clusters around the world, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA cluster leads in terms of transport volume. It includes three hub airports in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, two trunk airports in Zhuhai and Macao, and two feeder airports in Huizhou and Foshan. Its route network covers over 200 cities worldwide, and in 2024, the cluster handled over 214 million passenger trips.
The cluster has also developed “express channels” for the GBA’s advanced manufacturing sector and its global trade pattern of “buying and selling. ” Many high-value-added industries, such as semiconductor chips, biopharmaceuticals, and precision instruments, rely heavily on efficient air logistics. Additionally, cross-border e-commerce platforms like SHEIN and Temu have generated a high demand for customized air logistics products, such as “e-commerce-dedicated routes” and “charter services.
Institutional innovation has played a crucial role in the coordinated development