1932–2004

The old Baiyun Airport opened in 1932. Due to the expansion of Guangzhou, the airport could not expand to meet passengers needs as buildings surrounded the airport. On 5 August 2004, the new Baiyun Airport opened and the old airport was closed.

Since 2004

The current airport is located in the outskirts of Guangzhou's Baiyun District and Huadu District and opened on 5 August 2004 as a replacement for the 72-year-old, identically named former airport, which is now closed. Built at a cost of 19.8 billion yuan, the new airport is 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of downtown Guangzhou and nearly five times larger than its predecessor. "Baiyun" (白云) means "white cloud" in Chinese and refers to the Baiyun Mountain (Baiyunshan), near the former airport even though the mountain is much closer to downtown Guangzhou than it is to the new airport. It is also referred to as "New Baiyun" to distinguish it from the previous airport, but this is not a part of the official name.

Former curfews and restrictions did not apply to the new airport so it could operate 24 hours a day, allowing China Southern Airlines to maximise intercontinental route utilisation with overnight flights. Other airlines also benefit from the removal of previous restrictions.

Terminal 1

Terminal 1 has three components, Main Terminal, Area A and Area B. All check-in counters and most retail stores are placed at the Main Terminal. The two concourses controlled by individual security checkpoints, named Area A and Area B, are the boarding gates, security checkpoints, border control, customs and quarantine, baggage reclaim and relative facilities.

Since 24 January 2016, East Piers 1 and 2 are dedicated to serve international flights; domestic flights occupy the rest.

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 opened on 26 April 2018, with an area measuring over 808,700 square metres, making it one of the world's largest airport terminal facilities. Terminal 2 is the main hub of China Southern Airlines, while also housing airlines such as China Airlines, Korean Air, Vietnam Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Saudia, Thai Airways International, Sichuan Airlines, Aeroflot, Egyptair, Singapore Airlines, AirAsia, Qatar Airways, Kenya Airways, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Air Tanzania, Cathay Pacific, and more. Most SkyTeam and few Star Alliance member airlines will also typically operate in Terminal 2.^[6]

The new transport centre (GTC) is under construction on the south side of terminal 2; passengers will be able to go to Guangzhou downtown by taking metro, rail, bus or taxi there.^[7]

FedEx Asia-Pacific hub

On 13 July 2005, FedEx Express signed a contract with the airport authority to relocate its Asia-Pacific hub from Subic Bay International Airport in the Philippines to Baiyun Airport. The new Asia-Pacific hub covers an area of approximate 63 hectares (160 acres), with a total floor space of 82,000 square metres (880,000 sq ft).^[8] At the beginning of operation, the hub employed more than 800 people and operated 136 flights a week, providing delivery services among 20 major cities in Asia and linking these cities to more than 220 countries and territories in the world.^[9] The Guangzhou hub was, at the time of the opening, the largest FedEx hub outside the United States,^[8] but it was later surpassed by the expanded hub at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport.^[10]

The hub has its own ramp control tower, a first for an international air express cargo company facility in China, which enables FedEx to control aircraft movements on the ground, aircraft parking plans as well as loading and unloading priorities. Included at the hub are a unique package and sorting system with 16 high-speed sorting lines, seven round-out conveyor belts and 90 primary and secondary document-sorting splits. With the new advanced system, up to 24,000 packages can be sorted an hour at the start of operations.^[11]

Construction began in 2006 and the hub was originally scheduled to open on 26 December 2008. On 17 November 2008, after several months of testing, FedEx announced that the opening date was delayed to the first half of 2009 when the hub was expected to be fully operational. FedEx claimed that the revised operation date "provided FedEx with the necessary time to fully test all systems and processes, as well as work closely with the Guangzhou authorities to ensure all necessary approvals are in place".^[11]

On 17 December 2008, the hub completed its first flight operations test. A FedEx MD-11 aircraft took off from Subic Bay International Airport in the Philippines and landed at Baiyun Airport at 5:50 am. The flight was handled by the new FedEx hub team, using the FedEx ramp control tower and the new 24,000 package per hour sort system. Following a successful operations' process, the flight departed on time for its final destination at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. This Asia-Europe flight route operated four times per week during test run. FedEx also announced that the hub would start operation on 6 February 2009.^[12]

FedEx closed its 13-year-old Asia-Pacific hub at Subic Bay of northern Philippines on 6 February 2009, with the last flight leaving for Taiwan just before dawn, while hub operations have moved to Baiyun Airport.^[13] The first flight that arrived at the new FedEx Asia-Pacific hub originated from Indianapolis International Airport. The MD-11 aircraft landed at 11:07 pm at Baiyun International Airport from Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris, marking the opening and full operations of the new Asia-Pacific hub.^[14]

Runways

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport now has three runways. The third runway opened on 5 February 2015,^[15] which temporarily tackled the long‐standing capacity obstacle. The operation of the third runway expanded Baiyun Airport's capacity, pushing business up.^[16] Unfortunately, the third runway can only be used for landing, as its airspace conflicts with Foshan Airport.^[17] The airport is planning to build two additional runways.^[17]

Passenger

Cargo

Inter-terminal

There is a free shuttle bus that goes between Terminals 1 and 2.

Road

The airport is connected to downtown Guangzhou by the S41 Guangzhou Airport Expressway.

Rail

Guangzhou–Foshan circular intercity railway, which is under construction, will serve Baiyun Airport North railway station (for Terminal 2), Baiyun Airport South railway station (for Terminal 1) and Baiyun Airport East railway station (for Terminal 3) in the airport. The rail will connect the airport to the Panyu railway station and the Huadu railway station.

Metro

Baiyun International Airport is served by the Airport South Station (serving Terminal 1) and the Airport North Station (serving Terminal 2) on Line 3 of Guangzhou Metro.

In the future, Guangzhou Metro Line 22 may serve the airport, connecting it to downtown Guangzhou.^[70]

Bus

There are 5 Airport Express lines and 6 Airport Non-stop lines between airport and downtown. Buses take passengers to city's major hotels, grand plaza and transportation center, such as Garden Hotel, Guangdong Hotel, CITIC Plaza, Haizhu Square, Tianhe Coach Station, Guangzhou North Station among other destinations.

To service passengers out of Guangzhou city, the airport also provides intercity bus service. The buses will take passengers from/to Dongguan, Foshan, Zhongshan, Huizhou, Jiangmen among other destinations.