Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport has handled a cumulative total of 76.52 million passenger trips this year as the end of Tuesday, surpassing its full-year passenger throughput for 2024 (76.37 million).

International passenger trips reached 15.84 million, driven by the 144-hour visa-free transit policies, for a year-on-year increase of 19.01 percent and roughly one-fifth of the total passenger volume, according to a statement released by the airport on Thursday.

The airport's Terminal 3, which opened on Oct 30, has energized the numbers. In November alone, the airport handled 7.32 million passenger trips, a year-on-year increase of over 12.56 percent. Twenty-one domestic flights operated by China Eastern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, China United Airlines, Juneyao Airlines, and Okay Airways have been relocated to T3.

The airport has newly launched, resumed, or increased frequency on more than 30 international passenger routes since the beginning of this year. Added destinations include Surabaya, Almaty, Algiers, Madrid, and Darwin, while flights to Vancouver, Kolkata, and Delhi were resumed.

The airport's number of international and regional destinations now exceeds 100 cities. Additionally, several international carriers, including Air Astana, Vietjet Air, Eastar Jet, Nepal Airlines, Air Algerie, and IndiGo, have begun operating at the airport.

Leveraging the ultra-large-scale layout of "five runways and three terminals", Baiyun International Airport has achieved a transformative leap in international route density and intercontinental connectivity, further cementing its status as China's southern "first gateway" to Africa and the Middle East.

According to the statement, the airport, already one of the three busiest ones in the country, will further expand its presence in Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Australia-New Zealand, and Africa in the coming years. The airport will also open new routes and increase frequencies to the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and RCEP member nations, while extending its coverage to destinations in Europe, North America, and South America.