15-Minute Check-In Service Expands to 5 Hub Airports in China

The 15-minute pre-departure check-in service is now available on all domestic outbound flights from China Southern's five major hubs as of July 8.

Effective July 8, China Southern Airlines has extended its “Quarter-Hour Check-In” service to cover all outbound domestic flights from three additional hub airports: Urumqi, Shenzhen, and Shanghai Hongqiao. The move completes a full rollout of the service across the carrier’s five key domestic hubs—Guangzhou, Beijing Daxing, Urumqi, Shenzhen, and Shanghai Hongqiao—marking a significant milestone in smart travel and greatly expanding convenient travel options for passengers.

The airline first introduced the industry-first “Quarter-Hour Check-In” service on July 8, 2025. Over the past year, China Southern has worked closely with airport partners to progressively expand the service to more stations and routes, starting with its Guangzhou and Beijing Daxing hubs and the western gateway at Urumqi. The successful full-coverage implementation at Guangzhou and Beijing Daxing provided a replicable model for other hub airports.

With this latest expansion, in addition to full coverage on domestic departures from Urumqi, Shenzhen, and Shanghai Hongqiao, the service has also been added to two new routes: Shenyang–Shanghai Pudong and Chongqing–Beijing Daxing. To date, the “Quarter-Hour Check-In” service is available on all domestic outbound flights from the five hubs, as well as on select routes from stations including Chongqing, Shenyang, Harbin, Zhengzhou, Changsha, and Wuhan. In total, the service now covers 230 routes and more than 800 daily flights.

The “Quarter-Hour Check-In” service eliminates the traditional check-in counter cut-off time. For passengers without checked baggage, all that is required is to complete check-in, security, and boarding before the gate closes—which is 15 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time. This effectively gives travelers full control over their time at the airport.

For passengers with checked luggage, baggage drop-off must still be completed before the standard check-in cut-off times set by the local airport and the airline. Travelers with special assistance needs—including wheelchair users, passengers with reduced mobility, first-time flyers, unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, and those traveling with infants or young children—are advised to allow extra time. China Southern has also set up dedicated check-in counters for these groups to reduce waiting times and improve the overall service experience.

The “Quarter-Hour Check-In” initiative is part of China Southern’s broader effort, under the civil aviation industry’s “Travel Time Reduction” program, to respond to passenger needs through smarter technology and operational innovation. By breaking with the industry norm of closing check-in counters 30 to 40 minutes before departure, the service reduces last-minute rebooking hassles and gives travelers more time to spare.

Source: OT-Team(G), 南方航空报