(Yicai) Jan. 7 -- For the second straight year, southwestern China's Chengdu handled more air passengers than the southern powerhouse of Guangzhou last year, solidifying its position as China's third-largest aviation hub, driven by its new airport.

Chengdu's two airports -- Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport -- recorded a combined passenger throughput of 87.3 million in 2024, a record high representing a 17 percent increase from 2023, according to the civil aviation administration's news site.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, the main airport of the capital city of Guangdong province, reported 76.4 million passengers for the year, up 21 percent from 2023, the aviation base operator announced yesterday.

According to calculations by third-party institutions, Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu were China's largest aviation hubs last year. Shanghai and Beijing had passenger throughputs of 124 million and 117 million, respectively.

Chengdu, a city renowned for its panda breeding center and spicy Sichuan cuisine, first overtook Guangzhou in 2023 with nearly 75 million passengers compared to Guangzhou's 63.2 million. Last November, Chengdu became mainland China's third city to exceed 80 million air passengers in 2024, following Shanghai and Beijing.

Chengdu's growing popularity is largely attributed to its fresh airport. Since its opening in 2021, Tianfu Airport has risen to become the fifth-busiest airport in the country and the busiest in central and western China.

Even before Tianfu's opening, Chengdu's Shuangliu Airport was China's fourth-busiest airport. Despite its two runways and terminals being designed to handle 50 million passengers annually, demand has exceeded capacity since 2019, when passenger throughput reached nearly 55.9 million.

The three-year-old Tianfu Airport is projected to maintain annual growth of about 10 percent, reaching its designed capacity of 60 million passengers by 2026, Gu Xingshu, deputy dean of the School of Public Administration at Southwest Minzu University, said to Yicai.

Given current trends, Tianfu Airport will face peak passenger flow pressures within three to five years, necessitating immediate expansion plans, Gu added.

Editor: Emmi Laine