Southeast Asia Information Port News (www.dnyxxg.com) – “Hainan will see its return travel peak starting February 20th (the fourth day of the Lunar New Year), with the highest travel peak expected on February 23rd (the seventh day of the Lunar New Year), and the province's daily air passenger volume is expected to exceed 232,000,” said Li Jing, Vice President of Hainan Airport Facilities Co., Ltd., at a press conference on the Hainan Province Spring Festival travel peak return peak guarantee work on the 21st. She added that Hainan Airport, together with 18 airlines operating in Hainan, has taken measures such as adding extra flights and adjusting aircraft types to meet the temporary demand for popular routes and destinations.
Li Jing introduced that airlines have continuously increased capacity on popular routes. Currently, more than 2,000 extra flights are being added in Hainan during the Spring Festival travel season, with an estimated increase of more than 600,000 seats. Over the 40-day Spring Festival travel season, more than 10 million seats will be available, an increase of 10% compared to 2025.
In response to the return peak, the Civil Aviation Administration of China has specifically approved a second batch of extra flights, precisely targeting popular destinations such as Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Fuzhou, and Shenzhen. From the fifth to the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, there were over 100 flights daily between Hainan and Beijing and Shanghai. Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has corresponding contingency plans in place to address potential passenger delays caused by extreme weather.
Furthermore, airlines have increased seat availability by deploying larger aircraft. During the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, wide-body aircraft capacity in Hainan's civil aviation market increased by 13% year-on-year, and by 15% during the Spring Festival holiday. In particular, the daily proportion of wide-body aircraft flights at Sanya Airport has increased from the annual average of 8.5% to over 30%, ranking among the highest in the country.
Regarding passenger travel services, Hainan Airport has focused on seven key touchpoints for passenger travel: ticketing, information, check-in, security check, waiting area, and arrival. Paying attention to the travel needs of special groups, it has launched seven heartwarming Spring Festival travel season service measures: optimizing ticketing services, streamlining information response channels (24-hour, multilingual response), strengthening volunteer service support (200 volunteers daily), adding check-in and security check service channels, increasing waiting area facilities, and improving arrival service support. These measures coordinate efforts across the Haikou, Sanya, and Qionghai airports to jointly enhance the passenger travel experience.
Li Jing stated that although various methods have been used to increase capacity, the return travel flow is relatively concentrated at the end of the holiday, and some popular cities will still experience ticket shortages. She advised passengers to try to travel during off-peak periods, use connecting flights, or utilize Hainan's island-wide air-rail and air-ground intermodal transport network for travel to other locations.
According to data from various online travel agencies (OTAs), return tickets are plentiful after February 24th (the eighth day of the Lunar New Year), and ticket prices will drop significantly. When conditions permit, travelers can choose to travel during off-peak hours or focus on connecting flights or flights during off-peak periods, which can effectively reduce travel costs. They can also take advantage of the complementary strengths of the Haikou, Sanya, and Qionghai airports and their comprehensive transportation network to flexibly choose their departure and arrival airports. (End)
