Which terminal am I flying from at Guangzhou Baiyun

Terminal 1 stopped taking passengers in 2026, and the metro station that served it closed with it. If you’re flying China Southern or one of its regional and codeshare partners, you’re in Terminal 2. If you’re on China Eastern, Air China, Hainan Airlines or one of their affiliated carriers, you’re in the newer Terminal 3. Check your boarding pass before you leave for the airport — the split is by airline group, not by domestic versus international, and guessing wrong means a shuttle ride you didn’t plan for.

Terminal 1 is closed, and outdated guides don’t know it

Terminal 1 closed to passengers in May 2026 for what the airport describes as equipment renewal, and no reopening date has been announced. Its last tenants were a batch of domestic carriers that moved to Terminal 3 in the same move, all at once, with both their domestic and international routes.

The metro station that sat under Terminal 1, Airport South, closed at the same time. Trains on that line now pass through the old stop without opening their doors. This matters beyond the terminal itself: search results and older guides that route you to Airport South are describing an airport that hasn’t existed since spring 2026, and following that instruction leaves you at a closed station with your luggage.

Terminal 3: the newer building

Terminal 3 opened in late 2025 alongside a new runway, and it’s the base for China Eastern, Air China, Hainan Airlines and their affiliated carriers — both domestic and international flights, out of the same building. It has its own transport hub, with an intercity rail platform one level down and a separate bus station for the shuttle that reaches the nearest metro stop.

Terminal 2: the established building

Terminal 2 is the base for China Southern and its regional and codeshare partners, again handling domestic and international flights together rather than splitting by route type. It sits on the metro line directly, at its own transport hub, without the shuttle leg that Terminal 3 requires.

International check-in at Terminal 2 splits by carrier across named zones — China Southern’s own desks sit in one zone, agency and foreign carrier desks in two others — which matters if you’re being dropped off or meeting someone: knowing which zone your airline uses saves a walk across a building that’s larger than it looks from outside.

If you’re only passing through

A connection that keeps you on the same airline group usually keeps you in the same terminal too, since the two groups don’t share a building. A connection that crosses groups — say, arriving on a China Southern flight and leaving on a China Eastern one — means crossing terminals, and that’s exactly the trip the inter-terminal shuttle exists for, with the restriction described next.

Moving between T2 and T3

A shuttle bus connects the two terminals’ transport hubs, but it’s reserved for passengers who already have a booked connecting flight — the operator’s own signage says so in as many words. If you’ve landed at one terminal with no onward connection and need to reach the other, the shuttle isn’t an option for you. The intercity rail line that calls at both terminals’ hubs is the practical alternative, along with taxi or a pre-booked transfer.

Where to next

Getting from either terminal into Guangzhou is covered on the way into the city — it depends on which terminal you land in, so check that before you plan the rest of the trip. Landing late and need a bed near the runway instead: see hotels near the airport.