Haikou Airport Guide: Hainan’s Gateway to the Tropics
Haikou Airport is the main gateway to China's Hainan island, with two 3,600 m runways and a high speed rail station under the terminal. Read the full guide.
By The Aviation Hub
6 min read
Updated October 20, 2026 
Haikou Meilan International Airport is the principal airport of Hainan, the tropical island province at the southern tip of China. It sits in Meilan District on the northeastern coast of the island, within easy reach of the provincial capital. Haikou Airport handled close to 27 million passengers in 2025 and is the home base of Hainan Airlines, one of the country’s largest carriers. Two parallel runways, a vast new Terminal 2 and a high speed rail station in the basement make it a modern and well connected field.
Haikou Airport at a Glance
The codes are HAK and ZJHK. The airport lies in Lingshan Town, around 16 miles (25 km) southeast of central Haikou. It sits at 23 m (75 ft) above sea level on the coastal plain. Two concrete runways serve two terminals, with Terminal 2 taking all international flights and most of the Hainan Airlines and China Southern domestic schedules.
In 2025 Haikou Airport handled around 26.9 million passengers, ranking roughly twentieth among Chinese civil airports. Cargo was about 216,000 tonnes and there were around 185,000 aircraft movements. Hainan Airlines and Tianjin Airlines treat it as a hub, and both Hainan Airlines and China Southern maintain bases and maintenance facilities on the field. The operator is Hainan Meilan International Airport Company. Timetables and parking information are published on the airport’s official website.
How Haikou’s Airport Came to Be
Haikou’s first airport was Dayingshan, a cramped field in the middle of the city with no room to grow. As Hainan’s status as a special economic zone drove traffic upwards in the 1990s, the province needed a replacement. The State Council approved the project in 1993 and construction started at Meilan in November 1996.
The new airport opened on 25 May 1999 with a single runway and a terminal that is now known as Terminal 1. Hainan Airlines, which began flying from Haikou in 1993, grew alongside it and turned the field into the launching point for a fleet that would eventually span long haul Boeing 787s. The 1999 terminal was extended several times as traffic rose through the 2000s.
The second great leap came with the phase two project. It added a second runway and the 296,000 square metre Terminal 2, which opened on 2 December 2021. The international section of Terminal 2 followed in February 2023, once China’s borders reopened after the pandemic.
Runways at Haikou Airport
Haikou Airport has two parallel concrete runways, both 3,600 m (11,811 ft) long. The original runway 09/27 is 45 m wide and forms the southern flight zone, rated 4E. The newer runway 10/28 is 60 m wide and forms the northern flight zone, rated 4F and able to accept the Airbus A380.
The two runways are parallel and run almost exactly east to west, so their different numbers simply help pilots and controllers tell them apart. Prevailing winds in Hainan are from the northeast in winter and from the south or southwest in summer, so easterly operations on 09 and 10 dominate for much of the year. Typhoon season from July to October can bring sudden closures and diversions. Instrument landing systems help during the heavy rain and low cloud that the island sees in summer.
Terminals and Airlines
Terminal 1 covers about 150,000 square metres and has 28 airbridge gates and 13 bus gates. It now handles the domestic flights that are not part of the Terminal 2 operation, including those of Air China, China Eastern, Xiamen Airlines and Sichuan Airlines.
Terminal 2 is almost twice as large and is the showpiece of Haikou Airport. It handles every international and regional flight and the main domestic schedules of Hainan Airlines and China Southern. A set of swing gates in the central section can switch between domestic and international use depending on the time of day, which gives the airport unusual flexibility. Lounges for Hainan Airlines sit on the upper level.
Foreign carriers are a small but growing group. Korean carriers such as Air Busan, Singapore based Scoot, Vietnam Airlines, Thai VietJet, Kazakhstan’s SCAT and two Cambodian operators use Terminal 2. Hainan’s visa free entry policy for many nationalities has encouraged new routes since 2023.
Routes and Destinations
Domestic routes are the core of the business. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu are all served many times a day, mostly by Hainan Airlines and China Southern. The island’s tourism economy means traffic surges during the Chinese New Year holiday and the summer, when the whole country seems to decamp to the beaches of Hainan.
Hainan Airlines operates the widest international reach from its home base. Over the years it has flown from Haikou to Seoul Incheon, Tokyo Narita, Sydney, Dubai, Seattle and London Heathrow, though many long haul routes come and go with demand. Southeast Asia is well covered, with Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City on the map. Cargo volumes of around 216,000 tonnes a year make Haikou an important freight point for the island’s agriculture and the new free trade port.
Getting to and from Haikou Airport
The rail station in the terminal basement is the standout feature. Meilan Station sits on the Hainan high speed loop, which circles the island. City trains run into Haikou East station in around 15 to 20 minutes. Intercity trains continue down the eastern coast to Qionghai, Wanning and Sanya in about 90 minutes, so passengers can fly into Haikou Airport and reach the southern resorts without changing.
By road the G223 and S82 airport expressway link the terminal to the urban area, and the S201 provincial highway also serves the airport. A taxi to downtown Haikou takes around 30 minutes and costs roughly CNY 60 (about £7). Five bus routes serve the city, Guilinyang and nearby universities with fares of just a few yuan, which makes them the cheapest option by far.
Spotting and Photography
Haikou Airport has no formal viewing terrace, but the glass fronted departure halls in both terminals give wide views across the aprons. Terminal 2 faces the northern runway and its airbridge gates are busy with Hainan Airlines 787s and A330s. Photography through the glass works best in the morning when the sun is behind the building.
Outside the fence, the coastal roads east of the airport give views of aircraft on final approach to runways 27 and 28 during the summer westerly flow. In winter, when the northeast monsoon brings easterly operations, the approach to 09 and 10 crosses farmland west of the field. Light is strong and tropical, so the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset are best. Chinese airports are sensitive about photography near the fence, so stay on public roads and move on if asked.
What Comes Next
Phase three is already on the drawing board. The provincial government announced plans for a Terminal 3 in 2023, and a 2025 tender sought a feasibility study for a new southern runway of 3,600 m by 45 m, a Terminal 3 of around 450,000 square metres and a renovation of Terminal 2 and the cargo apron. If built, the airport would have three runways and far more terminal space.
The driver is the Hainan free trade port, which began island wide special customs operations in December 2025. Haikou Airport will be the main door into it. The verdict is that this field has the land, the runways and the political backing to grow for decades. See where it fits among the world’s largest airports on the Airports of the World map.
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