Shanghai Hongqiao Airport Pilots Zone Boarding

​Passengers wait to board at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. [Photo/Shanghai Airport Authority]

Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport has been piloting a zone boarding system since February to reduce congestion at boarding gates and cabin aisles.

Under the system, passengers board in three groups. The first group includes passengers requiring special assistance, such as elderly, frail, or ill passengers, people with disabilities, and pregnant women, as well as first-class and business-class passengers.

The second group includes economy-class passengers seated in the rear rows, allowing them to take their seats first and gain priority access to the overhead bins in the middle and rear cabin sections, reducing congestion caused when front-row passengers wait in the aisle.

The third group includes economy-class passengers seated in the front rows.

Passengers are guided by pre-boarding announcements and staff instructions at the gate and are required to queue according to their assigned boarding group.

After more than four months of trial operations and adjustments, the system has significantly improved boarding efficiency and aircraft turnaround efficiency.

Major airlines operating at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport — including China Eastern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Juneyao Air, and Spring Airlines — have fully adopted zone boarding, while Air China, Hainan Airlines, Tibet Airlines, and other carriers are working to introduce the system.

During the preparation stage, Hongqiao Airport consulted carriers such as China Eastern Airlines, XiamenAir, and others to develop unified implementation standards.

Airlines recorded standardized boarding announcements explaining the new procedures, while flight information displays at all boarding gates were upgraded to clearly indicate boarding groups and seat row numbers. The airport also added signage and deployed additional staff to provide more detailed, passenger-friendly boarding guidance.