Beyond Baiyun Airport, every major entry point in Guangzhou reported record or near-record volumes over the May-Day period, Guangzhou Customs told reporters on the evening of 5 May. Between 1 and 5 May customs officers cleared more than 1,700 international flights and around 290,000 passengers at Baiyun alone, up 16 percent on last year. At the adjacent Canton Fair site, the Pazhou Hong Kong–Macau ferry terminal processed 1,920 show-goers, using a temporary ‘Canton-Fair Express Lane’ for badge-holders. Southwards in Nansha, ferry services linking Hong Kong International Airport moved 3,500 travellers – a 75 percent spike versus the week before the holiday – illustrating how the Greater Bay Area’s sea-air multimodal corridor is maturing. Officials attribute the gains to a cocktail of factors: pent-up demand for cross-border leisure, the visa-free waiver, and aggressive airline capacity restoration. For corporates, the message is clear – Guangzhou now offers multiple parallel gateways for staff and cargo, reducing single-port dependency but increasing the complexity of ground-handling arrangements. Mobility advisers recommend building extra time into post-event itineraries. Despite heavy use of e-gates, customs reported that peak-hour queues still passed the 40-minute mark, and ground transport from Pazhou to Guangzhou South Station faced intermittent congestion.
Source: China News Service
