The 2026 summer travel season officially wrapped up on August 31, with strong momentum across the board. During this period, Jilin Airport Group managed a total of 27,000 flight movements and processed 4.055 million passenger trips, marking year-on-year growth of 3.2% and 4.7% respectively—both figures outpacing the industry average and setting a new all-time high for the group's summer traffic.
The group maintained a consistently high operating tempo throughout the season, coordinating safety protocols with service quality while maximizing route capacity to accommodate traveler demand. Changchun Airport handled the bulk of this activity, supporting 22,000 flight movements and carrying 3.389 million passengers, achieving a 0.1% uptick in passenger volume. On average, the airport managed 356 daily flights and transported 55,000 passengers each day during the peak period.
August 4 proved to be the standout day, with Changchun Airport handling a record 423 flights and 61,000 passengers in a single day—the highest daily throughput ever recorded for the airport during a summer season. This milestone highlights the robust vitality of the local aviation market and the strong pent-up demand for air travel.
To meet the surge in demand from holidaymakers, family visits, and student commutes at the start and end of the summer break, Changchun Airport teamed up with multiple carriers to fine-tune flight schedules. The strategy involved densifying popular trunk routes and introducing targeted seasonal services, with a focus on improving connectivity to key business and leisure destinations. The airport coordinated with 17 airlines—including Qingdao Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Shandong Airlines, and China Eastern Airlines—to optimize their schedules, significantly increasing frequency on routes to Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Qingdao, Yantai, and Chengdu. New or additional seasonal links to Altay, Xining, Lanzhou, and Urumqi were also launched, bringing the total number of extra summer flights to 1,320.
Yanji Airport also experienced a banner season, recording its busiest summer ever. Working with its partner airlines, the airport expanded services on routes to Beijing, Shanghai, Jinan, Tianjin, Qingdao, Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Xiangyang, and Jeju. Both its single-day and single-month passenger figures hit new records, with August international passenger volume reaching 112,000—also a monthly high. International travelers accounted for 43.8% of all passengers, the highest proportion among Chinese airports. Furthermore, Yanji ranked fourth nationwide for passenger traffic to South Korea and first in the entire northeastern region.