Guangzhou Baiyun Airport in the New T3 Era: Transfers and Getting Around for Business

City Guide2026-10-23·All articles

Guangzhou Baiyun Airport changed shape recently: T3 opened in October 2025, and from 2 May 2026 every flight that used T1 moved to T3. The airport now operates as T2 + T3 — a useful fact to know before you book a pickup.

Airport overview

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN)

Opened at its current site in 2004 about 28 km north of central Guangzhou; five commercial runways and three terminals totalling 1.56 million m², with 80 million+ passengers in 2025. South China’s leading international hub and China Southern’s mega base. The airport changed shape in late 2025–2026: T3 opened and every flight that used T1 moved to T3 — the airport now runs as T2 + T3.

Official site: www.gbiac.net

Terminals and airlines

Terminal	Who operates there (late 2026)
Baiyun Airport (CAN) T2	China Southern exclusively
Baiyun Airport (CAN) T3 (opened Oct 2025)	Everyone else: China Eastern, Air China, Shenzhen, Spring, Hainan, Cathay and the major international carriers
Baiyun Airport (CAN) T1	Closed for upgrade — all its flights moved to T3 (completed 7 May 2026)

Local notes

Check the ticket: any legacy “T1” route now departs and arrives at T3.
Metro Line 3 reaches T2 (Airport North). T3 is not yet metro-served — take the intercity rail to Baiyun Airport East, or transfer at Gaozeng to the shuttle (~15 min).
Free shuttles run between T2 and T3 around the clock (about 8-minute headways in the day) — still allow 20 minutes for a terminal change.

Canton Fair seasons: during the two fair phases (mid-April to early May, and late October to early November), roads around Pazhou see heavy control and congestion. For fair-period transfers we book drivers a day ahead, add buffer as standard, and coordinate the schedule against hall closing times — the last 40 minutes of a fair day is when everything collides.

Realistic drive times

Route	Distance	Off-peak	Rush hours*
Baiyun Airport → Zhujiang New Town (CBD)	~35–38 km	40–55 min	60–80 min
Baiyun Airport → Pazhou / Canton Fair complex	~40 km	50–65 min	70–95 min
Baiyun Airport → Guangzhou South Railway Station	~45 km	55–70 min	80–110 min

* Weekday 07:30–09:30 and 17:00–19:30; the airport expressway and the Huangpu Avenue crossings are the pinch points.

What a corporate transfer includes

Active flight tracking; the driver waits to actual arrival, no waiting limit.
Name board inside the arrivals hall; luggage assistance.
One contact across 60+ cities, 7×24, Chinese and English.