According to the Twelfth Five-year Plan on the Development of Civil Aviation in China, in the next 5 years, airport layouts will be optimized, with the construction of "regional economic zone" near the "five big airport groups"  accelerated, and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport will be upgraded as an international hub airport with strong competitiveness.

Guangdong Airport Management Corporation sets forth the objectives in the "twelfth five-year" strategic plan that by 2015, passenger volume in Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport will lift from 60  to 65 million, cargo and mail volume will increase to 1.8 million to 2 million tons, and 500,000 to 550,000 flights will depart and arrive at the airport. But the bottleneck of insufficient airspace shall be tackled to promote the development of the airport and to achieve the above goals.

Adhering to the principal of "pursuing common development", Guangdong Airport Management Corporation has also put billions of yuan investment on the constructions of the airports in Shantou, Zhanjiang and Meixian. Shaoshan Airport in Jieyang involving an investment of over 3.5 billion yuan will be put into use at the end of this year and will become the main airport in East Guangdong.