6-K

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON D.C. 20549

FORM 6-K

Report of Foreign Private Issuer

Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

October 13, 2020

CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES COMPANY LIMITED

68 Qi Xin Road

Guangzhou, 510403

People’s Republic of China

(Address of principal executive offices)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

Form 20-F   ☒            Form 40-F  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1):  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7):  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Yes  ☐            No  ☒

If “Yes” is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): _N/A_

China Southern Airlines Company Limited (the “Company”) published the following announcement on October 13, 2020 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s website at:

https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2020/1013/2020101300257.pdf, in relation to the operating data for September 2020 of the Company and its subsidiaries.

The announcement in English is included as exhibit to this Form 6-K.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES COMPANY LIMITED

By:	/s/ Xie Bing
Name:	Xie Bing
Title:	Company Secretary
Date:	October 13, 2020

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited take no responsibility for the contents of this announcement, make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this announcement.

ANNOUNCEMENT ON KEY OPERATING DATA

This announcement is made regarding the operating data for September 2020 of the Group to be published on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and pursuant to Part XIVA of the Securities and Futures Ordinance.

The relevant key operating data was calculated based on the internal statistics of the Group, which may differ from the data disclosed in the relative periodic reports. Investors are hereby reminded of the risks which may result from inappropriate reliance upon or utilization of the relevant information.

This announcement is made regarding the operating data for September 2020 of China Southern Airlines Company Limited (the “Company”) and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Group”) to be published on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and pursuant to Part XIVA of the Securities and Futures Ordinance.

In September 2020, passenger capacity (measured by available seat kilometres (“ASK”)) of the Group decreased by 23.67% as compared to the same period last year (a year-on-year (“YoY”) basis). Of which, passenger capacity for domestic routes increased by 6.55%, and for regional and international routes decreased by 92.25% and 89.88%, respectively as compared to the same period last year. Compared to the same period last year, passenger traffic (measured by revenue passenger kilometres (“RPK”)) decreased by 27.53%. Of which, passenger traffic for domestic routes increased by 1.63%, and for regional and international routes decreased by 96.18% and 92.72%, respectively as compared to the same period last year. The passenger load factor was 77.60%, representing a decrease of 4.14 percentage points as compared to the same period last year. Of which, the passenger load factor for domestic, regional and international routes decreased by 3.80, 35.04 and 22.75 percentage points, respectively, as compared to the same period last year.

In terms of cargo operations, in September 2020, cargo capacity (measured by available tonne kilometers (“ATK”) - Cargo and Mail) increased by 0.97% as compared to the same period last year. Cargo and mail traffic (measured by revenue tonne kilometres (“RTK”) - Cargo and Mail) decreased by 1.05% as compared to the same period last year. The cargo and mail load factor was 50.59%, representing a decrease of 1.04 percentage points as compared to the same period last year.

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In September 2020, the Group has newly launched the following major routes: Shenzhen-Taiyuan-Shenzhen, Xiamen-Nanjing-Shenyang-Nanjing-Xiamen (each seven flights per week).

In September 2020, the Group introduced two A321NEO aircraft and terminated the lease of one EMB190 aircraft. As of the end of September 2020, the Group operated a fleet of 854 aircraft as set out below:

Aircraft Model	Self-owned		Finance Lease		Operating Lease		Subtotal
Airbus 380 Series		4		1		0		5
Airbus 350 Series		0		6		0		6
Airbus 330 Series		4		29		13		46
Airbus 320 Series		95		100		116		311
Boeing 787 Series		4		25		8		37
Boeing 777 Series		8		21		0		29
Boeing 737 Series		156		82		163		401
Boeing 747 Series		2		0		0		2
EMB190 Series		6		0		8		14
ARJ21 Series		1		2		0		3
Total		280		266		308		854

KEY OPERATION DATA OF SEPTEMBER 2020

Traffic	September 2020						Cumulative 2020
	Amount		Month-on- Month (“MoM”) Change (%)		YoY Change (%)		Amount		YoY Change (%)
RPK (in million)
Domestic		16,609.03		12.96		1.63		91,479.47		-37.35
Regional		8.16		77.39		-96.18		203.93		-92.32
International		515.96		11.32		-92.72		11,767.10		-81.96
Total		17,133.15		12.92		-27.53		103,450.50		-51.64
RTK (in million)
Domestic		1,631.80		17.30		0.33		9,009.42		-35.91
Regional		1.54		212.00		-92.77		23.98		-90.50
International		568.29		4.60		-49.87		5,290.13		-47.03
Total		2,201.63		13.79		-20.84		14,323.53		-41.05

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RTK - Cargo and Mail (in million)
Domestic		148.34		34.64		-13.16		953.77		-23.66
Regional		0.81		794.05		-63.38		6.20		-68.28
International		522.54		4.03		3.31		4,267.03		-0.47
Total		671.69		9.65		-1.05		5,227.01		-5.92
Passengers carried (in thousand)
Domestic		11,096.80		8.23		2.51		61,581.27		-36.04
Regional		7.95		84.67		-95.04		180.31		-90.96
International		80.84		9.95		-95.21		2,516.41		-83.60
Total		11,185.58		8.28		-11.73		64,277.99		-43.43
Cargo and mail carried (in thousand tonnes)
Domestic		90.86		31.59		-12.96		583.31		-23.88
Regional		0.83		919.68		-58.72		5.99		-65.41
International		55.38		5.75		-7.84		462.67		-7.46
Total		147.07		21.05		-11.67		1,051.97		-18.04
Capacity	September 2020						Cumulative 2020
	Amount		MoM Change (%)		YoY Change (%)		Amount		YoY Change (%)
ASK (in million)
Domestic		21,169.71		6.29		6.55		128,703.03		-26.81
Regional		23.91		164.02		-92.25		429.10		-87.68
International		885.73		10.37		-89.88		17,757.11		-77.34
Total		22,079.35		6.51		-23.67		146,889.24		-43.00
ATK (in million)
Domestic		2,429.01		6.09		6.88		14,547.56		-27.01
Regional		3.28		220.61		-91.14		54.76		-86.42
International		882.44		5.17		-45.14		8,909.78		-37.37
Total		3,314.74		5.91		-15.40		23,512.10		-31.97
ATK - Cargo and Mail (in million)
Domestic		523.74		5.39		8.10		2,964.29		-27.76
Regional		1.13		441.84		-87.84		16.14		-82.02
International		802.73		4.68		-2.23		7,311.64		1.91
Total		1,327.60		5.03		0.97		10,292.07		-9.47

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Load Factor	September 2020						Cumulative 2020
	Figure (%)		MoM Change (Percentage Points)		YoY Change (Percentage Points)		Figure (%)		YoY Change (Percentage Points)
Passenger Load Factor (RPK/ASK)
Domestic		78.46		4.64		-3.80		71.08		-11.95
Regional		34.11		-16.66		-35.04		47.52		-28.72
International		58.25		0.50		-22.75		66.27		-17.00
Total		77.60		4.41		-4.14		70.43		-12.58
Cargo and Mail Load Factor
Domestic		28.32		6.15		-6.94		32.18		1.73
Regional		71.86		28.31		48.00		38.43		16.64
International		65.10		-0.40		3.49		58.36		-1.39
Total		50.59		2.13		-1.04		50.79		1.91
Overall Load Factor (RTK/ATK)
Domestic		67.18		6.42		-4.38		61.93		-8.60
Regional		46.84		-1.29		-10.54		43.80		-18.81
International		64.40		-0.35		-6.08		59.37		-10.82
Total		66.42		4.60		-4.56		60.92		-9.38

Notes:

1. “RPK(s)” refers to the number of passengers carried multiplied by the kilometers flown;

2. “RTK(s)” refers to the load (passenger and cargo) in tonnes multiplied by the kilometers flown;

3. “RTK(s) - Cargo and Mail” refers to the cargo and mail load in tonnes multiplied by the kilometers flown;

4. “ASK(s)” refers to the number of seats available for sale multiplied by the kilometers flown;

5. “ATK(s)” refers to the number of tonnes of capacity available for transportation multiplied by the kilometers flown;

6. “ATK(s) - Cargo and Mail” refers to the number of tonnes of capacity available for the carriage of cargo and mail multiplied by the kilometers flown;

7. “Passenger Load Factor” refers to RPK expressed as a percentage of ASK;

8. “Cargo and Mail Load Factor” refers to RTK- Cargo and Mail expressed as a percentage of ATK—Cargo and Mail;

9. “Overall Load Factor” refers to RTK expressed as a percentage of ATK.

The key operating data above was calculated based on the internal statistics of the Group, which may differ from the data disclosed in the relative periodic reports. Investors are hereby reminded of the risks which may result from inappropriate reliance upon or utilization of the information given above.

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In the first three quarters of 2020, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the global aviation industry has experienced severe challenges. With the gradual stabilization of the domestic pandemic control situation, domestic’s civil aviation is showing a steady recovery and development trend, however, due to the impact of the overseas pandemic, the scale of passenger transportation on international routes continues to remain low. In the face of unprecedented difficulties, the Group is taking pandemic prevention and control as part of its normal operations. On one hand, the Group has been strengthening its cost control to make every effort to reduce the losses caused by the pandemic and actively seek policy support and, on the other hand, seizing market opportunities to adopt various measures to increase passenger and freight revenue, and to help the Company survive the pandemic smoothly. In view of the huge losses caused by the pandemic to the aviation industry and the global economy, it is expected that the operating results of the Group in the first three quarters of 2020 will be materially and adversely affected. Investors are advised to pay attention to investment risks.

By order of the Board

China Southern Airlines Company Limited

Xie Bing

Company Secretary

Guangzhou, the People’s Republic of China

13 October 2020

As at the date of this announcement, the Directors include Wang Chang Shun, Ma Xu Lun and Han Wen Sheng as executive Directors; and Zheng Fan, Gu Hui Zhong, Tan Jin Song and Jiao Shu Ge as independent non-executive Directors.

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