Haikou Meilan Airport

Located on China's tropical Hainan Island, Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK) serves as the primary air gateway to Haikou, the capital of Hainan Province in southern China. As the island’s busiest airport, it anchors the regional aviation network and supports the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port.

Haikou Meilan International Airport handled 26.85 million passengers in 2025, just below its 2024 record of 26.89 million.

• From 2014 to 2018, passenger traffic rose from 13.85 million to 24.12 million, showing rapid pre-pandemic expansion.
• The airport was already near the 24 million passenger level before COVID-19, handling 24.22 million passengers in 2019.
• Pandemic disruption pulled traffic down to 16.49 million in 2020, then to a low of 11.16 million in 2022.
• The rebound was sharp: HAK recovered to 24.34 million passengers in 2023 and reached a new high of 26.89 million in 2024.
• In 2025, traffic stayed near the record level at 26.85 million, a slight 0.15% decline from 2024.
• As of March 2026, the airport had handled 8.57 million passengers year to date, up 4.38% from the same period of 2025.

HAK recorded 185,220 aircraft takeoffs and landings in 2025, averaging about 507 movements per day.

• From 2014 to 2018, aircraft takeoffs and landings increased from 105,861 to 165,186.
• Pre-pandemic activity remained high in 2019, with 164,786 takeoffs and landings.
• Operations fell to 129,726 in 2020 and reached a pandemic-period low of 105,675 in 2022.
• Recovery followed the passenger rebound, with 172,454 takeoffs and landings in 2023 and 186,117 in 2024.
• In 2025, aircraft takeoffs and landings remained near the record level at 185,220, down 0.48% from 2024.
• As of March 2026, the airport had recorded 56,222 transport takeoffs and landings year to date, up 1.53% from the same period of 2025.

January was HAK’s busiest month in 2025, with 2.90 million passengers.

• Winter remained the strongest travel period, with 2.90 million passengers in January and 2.88 million in February.
• Summer produced a secondary peak, led by 2.43 million passengers in August.
• The weakest official month in 2025 was June, with 1.73 million passengers.
• December traffic rose again to 2.48 million, reflecting the return of winter travel demand.
• In March 2026, HAK handled 2.79 million passengers, up 14.81% from March 2025.

HAK handled 215,752 tonnes of cargo and mail in 2025, its highest official annual total in the reviewed series.

• From 2014 to 2018, cargo and mail throughput rose from 121,131 tonnes to 168,622 tonnes.
• The airport reached a pre-pandemic high of 175,566 tonnes in 2019.
• Cargo and mail fell to 134,718 tonnes in 2020, recovered to 148,379 tonnes in 2021, and then dropped to 124,373 tonnes in 2022.
• Post-pandemic recovery lifted cargo and mail to 174,905 tonnes in 2023 and 209,336 tonnes in 2024, when HAK crossed the 200,000-tonne level for the first time.
• In 2025, cargo and mail increased again to 215,752 tonnes, up 3.07% from 2024.
• As of March 2026, HAK had handled 66,495 tonnes of cargo and mail year to date, up 14.8% from the same period of 2025.

HAK has operated with dual terminals and dual runways since the Phase II expansion entered service on December 2, 2021.

• The Phase II runway is 3,600 meters long and 60 meters wide.
• The Phase II flight area is built to Code 4F standard and can accommodate aircraft such as the A380.
• Terminal 2 covers about 300,000 m².
• Phase II added 110 check-in counters and 46 security channels.
• The Phase II project was planned to support 35 million passengers and 400,000 tonnes of cargo and mail annually by 2025.

Note: Capacity figures describe planned design capacity after Phase II, not actual annual traffic.