Chengdu Metro Line 18 is the first step in Chengdu’s "Eastward" strategy and serves as the main means of transportation for airport commuters. The first and last bus time operate on the line at 06:00am and 23:30pm respectively. In order to meet the travel demand of airport passengers, Chengdu Metro will increase the number of trains from the South Railway Station to the Tianfu International Airport North Station during peak periods of airport passenger flow from 06:00am to 08:00am and from 20:00pm to 23:00pm. It will also adjust the regular and zone routes to a regular route during the above periods.(The regular route runs from South Railway Station to Tianfu International Airport North Station and the zone route runs from South Railway Station to Western China International Expo Station. Regular route from South Railway Station to Tianfu International Airport North Station). At the same time, the minimum headway to the airport direction is reduced to seven minutes to meet the transport demand of airport passenger flow to the greatest extent.

Chengdu Metro operates both "fast and slow trains", running as many as six fast trains every day. The express stops at South Railway Station, Incubation Park Station, Haichang Road Station, Sancha Station, Tianfu International Airport Terminal 1 and 2, and Tianfu International Airport North Station. It does not stop at remaining stations. It takes just 37 minutes for passengers to take the metro Line 18 from the South Railway Station to Tianfu International Airport. This is 20 minutes less compared to driving between the destinations.

With the metro station seamlessly connecting with Tianfu International Airport, terminal 1 and terminal 2 of Tianfu International Airport have become the focal point for tourists to catch a glimpse of Chengdu’s modernisation. It also makes the passenger flow smooth and contributes to increased cultural output by attracting more tourists with its services. There is a special passenger service desk at the station with over ten services such as travel planning, language guidance, bus inquiries, etc. It can provide passengers with quick resolution of their queries, one click inquiry, intelligent information gathering and other self-services. In addition, the newly launched "Xiangrong Team" is a station service team with polite attitude and strong business skills. The bilingual team can serve as a one-stop shop for passenger queries and thus help international passengers feel right at home.