On April 1, the mutual visa exemption agreement between China and Thailand went into effect for one month. There has been a significant increase in the number of arrivals and departures of passengers at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport Port.
As of midnight on March 31, the border control station at Baiyun of Guangzhou General Station of Immigration Inspection had inspected over 20,000 Thai nationals entering and exiting the port, representing a month-on-month increase of approximately 365 percent.
Among them, nearly 90 percent were travelers entering China under the visa exemption. Additionally, there were nearly 130,000 Chinese residents traveling to Thailand, and the number of round-trip passenger flights between the two countries at Baiyun Airport increased to 208 flights per week.
Starting from March 31 until October 26, China's civil aviation implements the flight schedule for the 2024 summer-autumn season. Baiyun Airport Port is expected to add over 140 flights per week during the 2024 summer and autumn season, accommodating more than 30,000 additional inbound and outbound passengers.
According to the border control station at Baiyun, during the Qingming Festival holiday (from April 4 to 6), the daily average number of inbound and outbound passengers at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport is expected to be around 41,000, a month-on-month increase of 16 percent. Peak passenger flows are expected on April 4 and April 6.
To better cope with the continuous increase of inbound and outbound passenger flows before and after the Qingming Festival, the border control station at Baiyun has proactively optimized the deployment of police forces in advance. They will continue to strengthen the monitoring of inbound and outbound passenger flows, timely initiate peak-hour duties, set up additional guidance and diversion posts, and implement zone-based customs clearance in an orderly manner to further enhance the travel efficiency of inbound and outbound passengers.
In addition, the border control station at Baiyun has organized specialized police officers to form multilingual volunteer service teams. At the port, they provide Cantonese, Minnan dialect, and other native dialects for returning Chinese overseas nationals, while offering services in over ten minority languages such as Thai, French, Vietnamese, and more.