On October 8, the first working day after the National Day holiday, Mr. Zhang, a resident of Huangshi, opened a ticket booking app as usual to plan a flight for the following month. When he typed in "Ezhou Huahu," the only remaining route on the page, "Tianjin-Ezhou-Shenzhen," showed flight information only through October 23, with nothing available after the 24th.

"This is the last passenger route. If it stops, Huahu Airport's passenger service will truly be temporarily reduced to zero," said Mr. Zhang, a seasoned travel enthusiast who has witnessed the entire journey of Huahu Airport's passenger service from its inception to its rise and subsequent decline. The drive from Huangshi's urban area to Huahu Airport takes just 15 minutes, and the "nationwide half-day delivery" network once spread across 16 passenger routes was his preferred reason for departing from there 鈥?in off-peak seasons, discounted tickets were even more economical than high-speed rail fares.

The Last Route: A Temporary Farewell Starting October 24

On October 8, reporters confirmed through multiple ticket booking platforms that the only remaining passenger route at Huahu Airport is the "Tianjin-Ezhou-Shenzhen" service operated by Tianjin Okay Airways, flight numbers BK3063/3064, with one flight each on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Flights between October 9 and 23 are all available for normal booking, but from October 24 onward, all departures and arrivals show "no direct flights." A reporter called Okay Airways customer service for verification, and the representative stated that late October coincides with the civil aviation winter-spring schedule adjustment, and that this route indeed has no flight plans starting October 24.

This is not the first time Huahu Airport has reduced its passenger routes. Mr. Zhang recalled that at its peak, the airport operated 16 routes, covering all major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou, and Xi'an. The 2024 Spring Festival travel rush was widely recognized as the passenger service peak: a cumulative total of 720 passenger flights took off and landed, averaging 18 per day; passenger throughput reached 52,000, with an average daily flow of 1,300. At that time, Huahu Airport's passenger network included 16 destinations: Beijing Daxing, Shanghai Pudong, Quanzhou, Chengdu, Haikou, Chongqing, Qingdao, Wenzhou, Hohhot, Zhuhai, Kunming, Jinan, Xi'an, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and Tianjin. Huangshi had always been an important source of passengers for Huahu Airport's passenger service. As early as September 2022, when the airport opened its second passenger route, out of 6,200 passengers sent between July and August, the Huangshi area accounted for more than 50%. For Huangshi residents, Huahu Airport, just a 15-minute drive away, was once a more convenient "doorstep airport" than Wuhan Tianhe Airport.

Airport Response: Only a Phased Suspension, with a Possible Recovery by the 2027 Spring Festival Travel Rush

"The suspension of passenger routes is phased, not a permanent exit." In response to residents' concerns, a staff member at Huahu International Airport clearly stated that airlines are currently in a seasonal adjustment period, and the reduction in passenger flights is the result of both industry seasonal adjustments and market choices. The staff member said that one passenger route or zero passenger routes has virtually no substantial impact on the airport's overall operations at the current stage, and all passenger service facilities will be fully retained. According to the plan, during the 2027 Spring Festival travel rush, the airport will restore passenger routes as appropriate based on market demand and passenger flow conditions.

In fact, as Asia's first and the world's fourth professional cargo hub airport, Huahu Airport established its positioning from the very beginning as a "cargo hub, passenger feeder, public platform, and cargo airline base," forming a "dual hub" pattern for Hubei civil aviation with Wuhan Tianhe Airport featuring "cargo as the primary focus, passenger as supplementary, differentiated development, and complementary functions." Passenger service was never the core mission of this airport.

The Other Side's Surge: Cargo Volume Ranks Among the World's Top 30

Just as passenger routes have gradually contracted, Huahu Airport's cargo business is surging forward at a speed that has drawn industry-wide attention, creating a sharp contrast between the two. In 2025, Huahu Airport's cargo and mail throughput reached 1.1457 million tons, firmly ranking fifth nationwide, with a growth rate of 32.4% ranking first among the world's million-ton cargo airports; that same year, hub cargo volume exceeded 1.4781 million tons. Entering 2026, the growth momentum continues: as of August 31, cargo and mail throughput had already reached 1.221 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 27.7%. The TOP 30 national airport cargo flight volume ranking for week 40, released during the National Day holiday, showed Huahu Airport firmly in third place nationwide with 600 flights, surpassing Shenzhen Bao'an Airport's 587 flights. In July of this year, the Civil Aviation Administration of China officially confirmed that Huahu Airport has entered the world's top 30 cargo airports. In four years of operation, this cargo hub on the banks of the Yangtze River has cumulatively opened 122 cargo routes, including 59 international routes, covering major economic belts in Asia, Europe, and North America, reaching more than 170 countries and regions worldwide, with the number of all-cargo aircraft routes ranking first nationwide.

The Temporary Withdrawal of Passenger Service Is for Cargo to Take Off Better

When passenger flights are expected to land again at Huahu Airport during the 2027 Spring Festival travel rush, this airport may already be standing on a higher global cargo stage, and the 15-minute drive will always be the closest bond between Huangshi and this "air gateway to the sea."