Guangzhou is served by Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN), one of China's three major aviation hubs (alongside Beijing and Shanghai) and the busiest airport in the world by passenger numbers for arrivals into Guangzhou. It serves as the primary hub for China Southern Airlines, offering an unparalleled network of domestic flights from across China to CAN and extensive international connectivity from Asia, Africa, Oceania, North America, and Europe to Guangzhou.
The most frequent and affordable flights to Guangzhou are domestic routes from virtually every major and minor city in China to CAN. Key domestic origins into Guangzhou include Beijing (PEK/PKX), Shanghai (PVG), Chengdu (TFU), and Shenzhen (SZX) to CAN. Internationally, Guangzhou is a global gateway with particularly strong networks from Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Middle East to CAN. Top routes into Guangzhou include from Bangkok (BKK), Singapore (SIN), Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Sydney (SYD), Dubai (DXB), Amsterdam (AMS), and Los Angeles (LAX) to CAN.
The market for flights to Guangzhou is dominated by China Southern Airlines, which operates a massive hub at CAN for arrivals into Guangzhou, creating intense competition on many routes to CAN. Other major Chinese carriers like Air China and China Eastern have significant operations flying to Guangzhou. Low-cost carrier 9 Air is based here and serves CAN. Internationally, dozens of airlines compete into Guangzhou, including Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, and all major U.S. carriers flying to CAN, driving down fares for flights to Guangzhou.
To secure cheap flights to Guangzhou, book domestic flights 3-6 weeks in advance for arrival at CAN. For international travel to Guangzhou, start searching 2-5 months ahead for flights to CAN. Use Guangzhou's hub status to find exceptionally competitive fares into CAN, especially from Southeast Asia, Australia, and Africa—often the best in mainland China for reaching Guangzhou. Flying mid-week to CAN yields lower fares into Guangzhou. For domestic travel to Guangzhou, compare China Southern's vast network from your origin to CAN with 9 Air's budget options to Guangzhou. Be mindful of the Canton Fair periods (Spring and Autumn) when business travel demand to Guangzhou surges and prices into CAN rise.