Baiyun Airport Terminal 3 and T2: Airlines, Transfers, Rail

Which terminal is my flight at?

Your terminal depends on the airline that operates the flight. Baiyun Airport’s own airline list, checked on October 18, 2026, puts 33 airlines in Terminal 2 and 46 in Terminal 3. Your ticket or boarding pass shows T2 or T3. The city’s official guide asks every passenger to check it before leaving for the airport, because the terminals are far apart.

As a rule of thumb, T2 is China Southern’s terminal. Its partners and many Asian and Gulf airlines are there too. T3 has the other big Chinese groups (Air China, China Eastern, Hainan) and most low-cost airlines. Many foreign airlines use it as well.

Mainland Chinese airlines

International and regional airlines

Airlines do move. Spring Airlines and all of T1’s international flights moved to T3 in January 2026, for example. Treat this table as a starting point and trust the ticket.

iPhoto: Sun8908 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Details

Flying to Shanghai or Beijing? Compare the train first: Guangzhou to Shanghai and Guangzhou to Beijing.

Is Terminal 3 domestic or international?

T3 handles both. According to the Baiyun District government’s opening report, the main building holds check-in, security, border control and baggage claim. Domestic flights board from the east and west piers. International flights use the north pier.

Inside the departures hall, each check-in island has a letter. A May 8, 2026 report in Newsgd (INFO Guangdong), an English-language Guangdong news site, gives this layout:

The same report says domestic check-in at T3 closes 40 minutes before departure and boarding gates close 15 minutes before. International flights close earlier; your airline sets the time.

What happened to Terminal 1?

Many older guides, and AI answers trained on them, still send people to T1. Here is how the move happened:

1. October 30, 2025: T3 opened, with China Eastern’s first flight (Baiyun District government).
2. January 21, 2026: all international flights from T1 moved to T3, together with Spring Airlines’ domestic flights (Newsgd).
3. May 7, 2026, from 02:00: the last 11 domestic airlines in T1 moved to T3. T1 closed to passengers for an upgrade. The metro’s Airport South station and the intercity Baiyun Airport South station, both under T1, are closed for now (Guangzhou government notice).

No reopening date had been announced by October 18, 2026.

How do I get between T2 and T3?

The two terminals are about 25 minutes apart by road. You have three options.

The shuttle runs every 8 minutes from 09:00 to 23:00. It runs every 15 minutes from 23:00 to 03:00 and from 05:00 to 09:00, and every 20 minutes from 03:00 to 05:00. The city’s May 2026 guide describes the shuttle as being for transfer passengers. If you are told you can’t board, take the train, a taxi or a Didi instead.

Went to the wrong terminal? The official guide says to ask the nearest staff member or call the airport hotline on 020-96158. If departure is close, go straight to a customer service counter to ask about changing your flight.

How do T2 and T3 connect to the metro and trains?

Terminal 2. Metro Line 3 runs to Airport North station (机场北); follow the signs there to Terminal 2. The Guangzhou East Ring intercity line stops at Baiyun Airport North, which serves T2.

Terminal 3 has no metro station of its own. You have two ways in:

• Metro plus bus. Take Line 3 or Line 9 to Gaozeng (高增站) and leave by Exit B. Board the Airport Line 2 branch bus (空港2线支线) to T3, about 15 minutes for ¥2. It runs every 5 to 10 minutes and accepts the Yang Cheng Tong transport card. Newsgd reported these times in May 2026: Gaozeng to T3 from 06:15 to 23:15, and T3 to Gaozeng from 06:35 to 22:40.
• Intercity train. The Guangzhou East Ring intercity line runs to Baiyun Airport East (白云机场东站), on level B2 of the T3 transport centre. From there it is a 3 to 5 minute walk to the terminal. The city’s May 2026 guide says you can change onto this line from the metro at Guangzhou South, Pazhou, Keyun Road, Longdong and Zhuliang, but 12306 lists no stop named Guangzhou South (广州南) on it. On 12306 the ride to Baiyun Airport East takes about 5 minutes from Zhuliang, 29 to 52 minutes from Pazhou and 41 to 83 minutes from Panyu (番禺) (timetable for October 21, 2026). Timetables are published by Guangdong Intercity and on 12306.

For fares and times into the city centre, see Baiyun Airport to the city. If you are heading for the high-speed trains, see Guangzhou South Railway Station.

Where do taxis and ride-hailing cars pick up?

These are the official pick-up points listed on the airport’s website on October 18, 2026:

In the Didi app you choose the pick-up point, then walk to it before the car arrives. Before you get in, read how to avoid overcharging on airport taxis and Didi. Travellers on Reddit report being charged ¥510 to ¥700 for a taxi into the city, several times what the official fare rules give. Our Didi guide covers app set-up and the option that avoids most problems.

When you are being dropped off for a flight, give the driver the terminal name in Chinese from the card below. For T3, the official guide recommends the Airport Second Expressway (机场第二高速).

Arriving on an international flight or in transit

Baiyun Airport is one of the Guangdong ports for China’s 240-hour visa-free transit. You can fill in the arrival card online before you travel, free, on the NIA website, 12367 app or WeChat and Alipay mini programs. Check your own passport in the visa-free checker before you fly. If you have a long layover, the airport to city guide shows how long each route into Guangzhou takes.