The 2026 summer travel season recently concluded. According to Shanghai Airport Group and China Railway Shanghai Bureau Group Co., Ltd., during the 62-day summer travel period, Shanghai Pudong and Hongqiao airports handled 25.281 million passengers; Shanghai Railway Station (comprising 10 stations including Shanghai Station, Shanghai South Station, Shanghai Hongqiao Station, and Shanghai Songjiang Station) handled over 27 million passengers. Combined air and rail passenger traffic exceeded 52 million, demonstrating Shanghai's comprehensive transportation hub's impressive performance during the summer travel season.

Passenger traffic is steadily increasing, and the summer travel season continues to be popular.

This summer travel season, Shanghai saw steady growth in both air and rail passenger traffic. In aviation, Shanghai's two major airports, Pudong and Hongqiao, handled a total of 151,000 flight takeoffs and landings, a year-on-year increase of 3.1%. Pudong Airport handled 102,000 takeoffs and landings, and Hongqiao Airport handled 49,000. Passenger traffic reached 25.281 million, averaging 407,000 passengers per day, a year-on-year increase of 4.8%. Pudong Airport handled 16.394 million passengers, and Hongqiao Airport handled 8.887 million passengers. In railways, Shanghai Railway Station handled over 27 million passengers, with the peak passenger flow occurring on August 22nd, when 597,000 passengers were transported in a single day. The Yangtze River Delta railway network transported nearly 180 million passengers over 62 days. During the summer travel season, Shanghai Railway Station added 797 passenger trains to destinations including Urumqi, Qingdao, and Nanchang, carrying an additional 526,000 passengers.

Inbound and outbound passenger traffic was particularly strong. During the summer travel season, Pudong Airport processed 6.7 million inbound and outbound passengers, averaging nearly 110,000 per day, maintaining a consistently high level of passenger flow. As the first stop for foreign tourists, Shanghai Railway Station received 435,000 foreign passengers during the summer travel season, a year-on-year increase of 24%.

Optimize transport capacity supply and expand air routes and road networks.

To meet the surge in travel demand during the summer holidays, Shanghai's air and rail services have continuously optimized capacity allocation. Shanghai Airport, based on its commitment to becoming a comprehensive international aviation hub, actively supports airlines in adding and increasing the frequency of routes. In the international market, seven new destinations have been added, including Dublin, Ireland; Tbilisi, Georgia; and Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Frequency has also been increased on popular routes such as Marseille, France; Athens, Greece; Barcelona, Spain; Venice, Italy; Geneva, Switzerland; Jeju and Daegu, South Korea; and Almaty, Kazakhstan. Domestically, Shache, Xinjiang has been added, and frequency has increased on routes to Kunming, Guiyang, Hailar, Yanji, and Urumqi. Currently, Shanghai Airport's route network covers 302 destinations in 53 countries worldwide.

Regarding railways, the Yangtze River Delta railway network focused on popular summer travel destinations such as Beijing, Northwest China, Sichuan-Chongqing, and Fuzhou-Xiamen, precisely allocating transport capacity. During the 62-day summer travel season, the Yangtze River Delta railway network added 4,895 passenger trains, expanded and doubled the capacity of 14,912 high-speed trains, and added 4,836 carriages to regular passenger trains. Simultaneously, it actively responded to the impact of typhoons, flexibly implementing measures such as service suspensions, speed limits, and resumption of services to ensure safe travel for passengers.

Comprehensive service upgrade for a more comfortable travel experience

During the summer travel season, Shanghai's air and rail services have launched a series of special service initiatives to continuously enhance the travel experience for passengers.

At the airports, Pudong Airport has included unaccompanied children and teenagers aged 13 to 16 in its "Caring Lane" service, opened a "Slow Service Zone" for elderly passengers, and provided services such as free wheelchair rentals and handwritten note guidance. Shared wheelchairs and strollers have also been deployed in key areas. A baby-friendly space of over 110 square meters has been opened in the domestic mixed-flow level of Terminal 2. Hongqiao Airport, in collaboration with Shuangliu Airport, has implemented a "one-booking, two-airport access" special passenger care lane system, and has opened a dedicated waiting area and security checkpoint for pets in Terminal 2. Both airports have upgraded their "Easy Security Check" service, deploying 16 new millimeter-wave security gates.

On the railway front, Shanghai Railway Station, leveraging its "Xinshang" service brand, has opened exclusive green channels for student groups and summer camp teams during the summer vacation, providing one-stop services such as dedicated waiting areas, priority ticket checking and entry, and dedicated staff holding signs for guidance. It has also piloted a train ticket reservation service for over 200 trains on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway and the Beijing-Shanghai Railway. Summer "cooling packages" have been launched at various stations, providing free cooling fans, wet wipes, and cooling oil for preventing heatstroke. The Yangtze River Delta Railway has comprehensively revamped its "One Bowl of Good Meals" catering service, launching over 50 new boxed meal options and adding a hot food supply point at Xiamen North Station, extending the "one-hour hot food supply circle" to 21 key stations.

Deep integration of culture and tourism, making waiting areas for trains and planes scenic spots.

This summer travel season, the deep integration of "railway + culture and tourism" and "aviation + culture and tourism" has become a major highlight.

On the railway front, Shanghai South Railway Station has created a station themed "Little Monsters of Langlang Mountain" and, in conjunction with the Xuhui District Library, is hosting the "Book Fragrance Nourishes the Hub" summer study tour for junior librarians. Shanghai Songjiang Railway Station, in collaboration with Sheshan National Tourist Resort, is offering exclusive benefits based on train ticket stubs and regularly staging performances of song, dance, instrumental music, magic, acrobatics, and folk arts in the waiting room. Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station's "Enjoy Shanghai" urban civilization reception hall is hosting a summer children's fun event, featuring performances by several municipal state-owned troupes, including the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe, the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Shanghai Puppet Theatre. Shanghai Railway Station, in collaboration with the Memorial Hall of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, has opened two red-themed exhibitions: "Eternal Oath" and "The Red Army Fears No Hardships of the Long March." The nation's first LEGO theme train successfully launched this summer, and Jinshan North Railway Station simultaneously completed a LEGO-themed atmosphere makeover.

In the aviation sector, Shanghai airports actively responded to the deployment of deep integration of culture, commerce, tourism, sports, and exhibitions. Combining the "Shanghai Summer" International Consumption Season and the "China Style, China Young" cultural brand, they launched interactive activities at both airports, including "Fly Young Summer, Dream in the Clouds," weekly performances such as "Multi-Young Airport, Art Takes Flight," and the "Parallel Universe, City Lights" Shanghai-Hong Kong Twin Cities Dialogue Art Exhibition. Pudong Airport created a duty-free zone of over 200 square meters for domestic goods in Terminal 2 and optimized self-service tax refunds for departing passengers. Hongqiao Airport launched the "A Journey of Gifts, Summer Joy" summer promotion, with a "Heartfelt Delivery" service that delivers goods directly to boarding gates and airport lounges.

The summer travel season has ended, but services continue. Going forward, Shanghai's air and rail services will continue to monitor developments in commerce, sports, culture, tourism, and exhibitions, adding flights and trains as needed and optimizing capacity allocation; further deepening the integration of "culture and tourism+", regularly introducing distinctive IPs, cultural performances, and public-benefit cultural and tourism activities; and continuously enhancing its service brand to meet the travel needs of passengers with more practical measures and warmer services. (Source: CNR.cn)