Since the 18th CPC National Congress, Hainan's civil aviation industry has developed rapidly thanks to advantageous policies, with the number of its airports, airport capacity, and passenger throughput having doubled.
Qionghai Boao Airport completed construction in January 2016. In December 2016, Sansha Yongxing Airport completed its reconstruction and expanded civil-military joint use, as well as opened civil aviation business charter flights. To date, Hainan has four airports that can be used for civil aviation transportation.
The third phase expansion of Sanya Phoenix International Airport, the expansion of Qionghai Boao Airport, and the second phase expansion of Haikou Meilan International Airport have been completed successively. In particular, the Haikou Meilan International Airport Phase II expansion project was completed and put into operation at the end of 2021, achieving the aims of building a world-class airport and creating an air gateway for the Hainan Free Trade Port.
In 2019, the annual passenger throughput of Hainan's civil aviation reached 45.01 million persons per times, an increase of 104 percent over 2012, with an average annual growth rate of 10.7 percent. Haikou Meilan International Airport and Sanya Phoenix International Airport exceeded 20 million persons per times, becoming the third provincial-level area with "double 20 million" airports in China after Shanghai and Guangdong.
In December 2021, the Haikou-Chengdu-Lhasa route opened, marking that Haikou Meilan International Airport had achieved full route network coverage to the capital cities of domestic provinces. To date, Hainan's overseas air routes have covered more than 20 countries, including South Korea, Japan, Russia, Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.
