Departure
94%
vs 95% ▼ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (ZGGG) is the principal gateway to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, and one of mainland China's busiest hubs, serving as the main base for China Southern Airlines and a FedEx Asia-Pacific hub. For the simulator pilot it offers a large, modern four-runway complex with full ILS coverage, situated some 28 kilometres north of the city centre.
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport lies in the Huadu district north of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, and takes its name from nearby Mount Baiyun, meaning "white clouds". It is the principal hub of China Southern Airlines and a focus city for Shenzhen Airlines, as well as home to a major FedEx Asia-Pacific hub, making it one of the busiest and most recognisable airports in China for anyone flying a heavy or regional jet into the Pearl River Delta.
The airport sits at the junction of Renhe Town in Baiyun District and Huashan and Huadong Towns in Huadu District, about 28 kilometres north of downtown Guangzhou. As a major international hub it lies within controlled Chinese airspace with its own approach control, and pilots inbound should expect to work Guangzhou Approach well before joining the terminal area.
The airfield has two parallel physical runways. The northern pair, 02R/20L, is 10,148 feet long, has a hard surface, is lit and equipped with ILS. The southern pair, 02L/20R, is 9,430 feet long, also hard-surfaced, lit and equipped with ILS. Field elevation is 43 feet.
Radio services include Guangzhou Approach on 120.4 MHz, ATIS on 128.6 MHz, Clearance Delivery on 121.95 MHz, Ground on 121.75 MHz and Tower on 118.1 MHz. Both runway pairs are equipped with ILS, supporting instrument approaches in the often hazy or monsoon-affected conditions typical of the Pearl River Delta.
The original Baiyun Airport opened in the summer of 1932 (some sources give 1933) on the west side of Mount Baiyun in what is now Guangzhou's Baiyun District, initially serving military purposes before conversion to civilian use. As Guangzhou expanded, the old airport became hemmed in by surrounding buildings and terrain and could no longer grow to meet rising traffic, prompting the Chinese government to approve relocation and construction of a new airport. Construction began in the second half of 1999, and the present Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport opened on 5 August 2004, replacing the 72-year-old original field, which was then closed. A third runway was brought into use in 2014, and a second terminal followed in 2016. In December 2008 the airport became a FedEx Asia-Pacific hub, with the first test flight arriving from Subic Bay International Airport in the Philippines and the first operational flight arriving from Indianapolis via Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Baiyun remains the primary hub for China Southern Airlines and a focus city for Shenzhen Airlines, alongside its role as a FedEx Asia-Pacific freight hub. It ranks among the world's busiest airports by passenger traffic, having briefly become the busiest airport globally in 2020 and remaining the busiest in China in subsequent years. The airport now operates from two terminals supporting extensive domestic and international route networks.
