Thousands of travellers across Asia are grappling with long queues, missed connections, and unexpected overnight stays as a fresh wave of delays and cancellations sweeps through key hubs in Singapore, Thailand, Japan, India, South Korea, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Türkiye. According to the latest operational data compiled on February 13, 2026, at least 4,418 flights have been delayed and 79 cancelled across the region in recent hours, disrupting schedules on Vietnam Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Thai Airways, Air India, and numerous other carriers serving major gateways such as Bangkok, Hanoi, Tokyo, Mumbai, Shanghai, Jakarta, and Istanbul. The ripple effects are being felt far beyond Asia as long-haul passengers find themselves stranded mid-journey or facing cascading rebookings.
Another Day of Uncertainty for Asia’s Air Travellers
The latest wave of disruption comes at a sensitive time for the Asia Pacific travel sector, which has been steadily rebuilding capacity and restoring international networks. On February 13 alone, more than 4,200 delays and over 60 cancellations were recorded at airports across Thailand, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, with further disruption reported in Singapore, Vietnam, South Korea, and Türkiye. These figures, combined with a series of severe delay days earlier in the week, lift the tally to roughly 4,418 delayed flights and 79 cancellations across a wider band of Asian markets when incorporating additional data from Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam.
Jakarta Soekarno Hatta, Kuala Lumpur International, Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji, Delhi Indira Gandhi, and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi are among the worst-affected hubs, each recording hundreds of delayed departures and arrivals. Major Chinese gateways, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Kunming, Nanjing, Guiyang, and Kashgar, have likewise logged heavy schedule disruptions, while Hong Kong, Sapporo, Phuket, and other regional airports are also reporting significant knock-on impacts. For travellers, the operational statistics translate into hours spent in terminals, reissued boarding passes, and hotel vouchers that are often in short supply.
For Vietnam, Singapore, and South Korea, the disruption is particularly visible along heavily trafficked regional routes linking Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, and Bangkok. Vietnam Airlines and other regional carriers have been forced into rapid rescheduling to cope with late inbound aircraft and constrained turnaround times. In Singapore, operations at Changi Airport have been under persistent strain in recent days, while Korean Air and other Korean carriers have reported chronic knock-on delays out of Japan, China, and Southeast Asia, affecting connections through Seoul.
Major Hubs Under Pressure From Bangkok to Shanghai
Across Asia, a small group of mega-hubs is bearing the brunt of the operational stress. Jakarta Soekarno Hatta has emerged as one of the most severely impacted airports, with more than 500 delays and several cancellations recorded within a single day. Kuala Lumpur International has followed closely, with nearly 500 delayed flights, while Mumbai and Delhi together have seen close to 900 delays. Bangkok Suvarnabhumi has also reported hundreds of late departures, affecting both Thai Airways and a roster of regional and long-haul carriers.
In China, the disruption is widely dispersed across both coastal and inland centers. Beijing Capital and Beijing Daxing continue to experience waves of delays as weather, dense air traffic, and complex slot patterns interact. Shanghai Pudong, which has recently led Asia in delay counts on several days, remains a pressure point for China Eastern, Air China, and other international operators. Farther inland, airports such as Kunming, Guiyang, Kashgar, and Chengdu have reported strong surges in delayed movements, illustrating the spread of operational strain beyond traditional coastal gateways.
Tokyo and Osaka are similarly affected, with Sapporo’s Okadama Airport reported to have one of the highest cancellation-to-traffic ratios in the current disruption cycle. These Japanese airports play a critical role in connecting intra-Asia traffic with transpacific and European routes, so relatively minor schedule shifts can quickly ripple into missed long-haul connections. For travellers bound for North America or Europe via Tokyo, Osaka, or Sapporo, the current wave of delays has meant tight connections turning into overnight layovers.
Flag Carriers and Low Cost Airlines Alike Feeling the Strain
The scale of the disruption means that no segment of the airline industry has been spared. Full service carriers such as Thai Airways, Vietnam Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Air India, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, Saudia, Garuda Indonesia, and Air China have all logged significant delay volumes. In India, IndiGo and Air India rank among the most impacted, with hundreds of delayed flights as they navigate high domestic demand combined with regional weather and air traffic congestion.
Low cost carriers across Southeast and East Asia are also contending with operational bottlenecks. Thai AirAsia, Batik Air, Lion Air, and several budget brands in China and Japan have absorbed a heavy share of short-haul disruption. Their dense point-to-point networks, often relying on high aircraft utilization and tight turnarounds, mean that even small operational hiccups can quickly cascade across the day. A single late aircraft rotation in Jakarta or Bangkok can ultimately trigger a chain of delays extending to regional spoke cities and onward international services.
For passengers flying Vietnam Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and Korean Air, the impact is frequently felt in the form of missed regional connections. A late inbound from Mumbai or Bangkok may cause an evening departure from Singapore or Seoul to push past curfew thresholds at certain destinations or to miss optimal slot windows in congested airspace. Where local regulations and airport operating hours are strict, airlines are sometimes left with little option but to cancel or significantly retime services, further stretching crew and fleet schedules.
Why Asia Is Seeing Repeated Waves of Disruption
Operational experts point to a combination of structural and seasonal factors behind the current pattern of large scale delays and cancellations. Several Asian markets are on the cusp of the Lunar New Year peak, a period that traditionally brings some of the heaviest travel volumes of the year. Government offices across China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, and parts of Southeast Asia are scheduled to close or operate at reduced capacity from mid to late February, and airlines have been ramping up schedules to meet demand. This surge in planned traffic leaves little slack in the system when weather or air traffic control constraints occur.
Weather remains a significant underlying driver. Winter conditions in northern China, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula can create deicing backlogs, low visibility, and temporary runway capacity reductions. In Southeast Asia, seasonal thunderstorms and bouts of poor visibility can slow operations at airports like Jakarta, Singapore, Bangkok, and Ho Chi Minh City. When these conditions happen concurrently with dense traffic and tight slot allocations, the network quickly becomes vulnerable to extended reactionary delays.
At the same time, airlines across the region are still fine tuning post pandemic schedules and crew rosters. Some carriers are working within new regulatory frameworks on crew duty time and rest requirements, while others face ongoing pilot and cabin crew shortages in specific fleets. Where rosters are tight, a single extended delay can push crew beyond permitted duty hours, forcing last minute aircraft swaps or cancellations. For travellers, this complex interplay of demand, regulation, weather, and operational resilience is experienced simply as long waits and frayed itineraries.
Scenes on the Ground: Crowded Terminals and Makeshift Layovers
Across the region, terminals in Bangkok, Hanoi, Tokyo, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Jakarta, and Istanbul have filled with travellers trying to reconfigure their plans. Airport seating has proved insufficient at peak times, pushing many stranded passengers onto floors and into any available corner near boarding gates and check in counters. Long queues for customer service desks snake throughout departure halls as travellers seek rebooking options and information that often changes by the hour.
Hotels close to major airports are reporting high occupancies, with some hubs struggling to provide enough rooms for passengers whose flights have been pushed to the following day. In cities such as Bangkok and Mumbai, late night cancellations have forced airlines and passengers into a scramble for accommodation and airport transport. Travellers connecting through regional hubs to long haul services are particularly vulnerable, as a missed evening departure can mean a full day’s delay waiting for the next available connection.
Families, solo travellers, and business passengers alike have been affected. Many are being advised to stay airside and remain flexible, watching departure boards closely and maintaining communication with airlines via mobile apps and call centers. The human cost of the disruption is visible in anxious calls to friends and relatives, missed events, and improvised overnight stays on terminal benches. For those travelling with young children or elderly relatives, the experience is especially challenging.
What Affected Travellers Can Do Right Now
For travellers presently caught up in the disruption, proactive management of bookings is essential. Airlines serving the affected airports are encouraging passengers to check their flight status repeatedly on the day of travel, rather than relying solely on information printed on earlier boarding passes. Where possible, passengers whose flights have not yet been severely impacted are being urged to arrive at the airport early, particularly in congested hubs such as Bangkok, Singapore, Jakarta, Mumbai, Delhi, Shanghai, and Tokyo, where security and immigration lines can lengthen rapidly during irregular operations.
Many carriers in the region, including Vietnam Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Thai Airways, and Air India, are providing limited waivers for same day changes in the event of substantial delays or cancellations, though the precise terms vary by ticket type and route. Passengers booked on codeshare or interline itineraries, especially those involving connections between Asian and European or North American carriers, are advised to contact the original issuing airline or their travel agent as soon as disruption becomes apparent. During multi country events such as the current one, seat availability on alternative flights can evaporate quickly.
Travellers who have not yet departed for Asia, but are scheduled to connect through the most affected hubs over the coming days, should consider building longer connection margins into their itineraries where changes are permitted. For those with time sensitive commitments, rerouting via less congested hubs or adjusting travel dates slightly away from peak holiday periods surrounding the Lunar New Year may reduce risk, though such changes may incur fare differences. Comprehensive travel insurance with robust trip interruption coverage can also help cushion the financial impact of last minute hotel stays and rebookings.
What This Means for Asia’s Travel Recovery
The latest spike in delays and cancellations serves as a stark reminder of both the resilience and fragility of Asia’s aviation recovery. On the one hand, the sheer number of affected flights underscores how far the region has come in restoring capacity compared with the depths of the pandemic. Major carriers are once again operating dense networks across South, Southeast, and Northeast Asia, with long haul connections to Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas steadily back in place.
On the other hand, the strain visible in the current disruption highlights the operational vulnerabilities that remain. Rapid traffic growth, evolving regulatory requirements, and the challenge of recruiting and training sufficient crews all contribute to a system where large scale delays can spread quickly between markets. The convergence of the winter weather window and the Lunar New Year peak exacerbates these pressures, particularly at airports where infrastructure and airspace are already operating close to capacity.
For frequent travellers, this episode may be a signal to treat tight connections in Asia with greater caution in the near term. While airlines and airports will undoubtedly draw lessons from the current events and adjust schedules, staffing, and contingency planning, volatility is likely to remain a feature of travel across the region through the remainder of the winter and the upcoming holiday period. Those planning complex itineraries through Bangkok, Hanoi, Tokyo, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Jakarta, or Istanbul in the coming weeks would be wise to allow additional buffer time and to keep a flexible mindset as conditions evolve.