China’s already stretched aviation system was hit by another wave of disruption this week as adverse weather and flow control measures triggered the cancellation of at least 55 flights and delays to more than 660 services across the country. Major hubs in Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an and Chengdu struggled to keep aircraft moving as thick winter fog and low cloud reduced visibility, forcing controllers to slow operations and airlines to scramble for aircraft, crew and spare seats. Carriers including China Eastern, Air China and China Express are now facing a growing backlog of displaced passengers at the height of the Lunar New Year travel period.
Weather Systems Collide With Peak Lunar New Year Traffic
The latest disruption comes in the middle of the 40 day Lunar New Year travel rush, traditionally one of the busiest periods on China’s transport calendar. A combination of dense fog, freezing drizzle and patchy low cloud at several key hubs has repeatedly pushed visibility below safe landing and take off thresholds, prompting traffic flow restrictions and intermittent runway closures.
In northern China, airports serving the capital region experienced sporadic ground stops and extended spacing between arrivals as meteorological warnings were issued and then extended. Beijing Daxing and Beijing Capital saw queues of aircraft building on taxiways while controllers attempted to juggle arrival banks with strict separation rules imposed for low visibility operations. The knock on effect was swift, with flights destined for Shanghai, Xi’an and Chengdu left holding in the air or diverting to alternates when fuel margins became tight.
Further south and west, winter fog and low cloud also affected Shanghai Pudong, Shanghai Hongqiao and Chengdu Tianfu, airports that act as major transfer points for both domestic and regional international passengers. At periods of peak congestion, departure rates dropped sharply, forcing airlines to hold back aircraft on stands and reshuffle rotations that were already tightly timed for the holiday period. When conditions improved, ramp teams struggled to clear the backlog fast enough to prevent a fresh wave of missed connections.
Major Hubs in Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an and Chengdu Under Strain
The impact has been most visible at China’s core aviation hubs, where even modest schedule shocks ripple quickly through the network. In Beijing, both Daxing and Capital airports reported clusters of cancellations and long strings of delayed departures on domestic trunk routes, particularly those linking the capital with Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and regional centers in the northeast.
Shanghai’s dual airport system, normally a pressure valve for diversion and rerouting, also came under simultaneous strain. At Pudong, where long haul and many key domestic routes converge, departure boards showed banks of delayed flights as the morning fog layer lifted more slowly than expected. Hongqiao, focused heavily on high frequency business and regional services, saw its dense banked schedules unravel when arrival rates were cut to maintain safe spacing.
In Xi’an and Chengdu, both designated as western China hubs, disruptions were compounded by their role as connection points between the country’s coastal cities and the interior. Xi’an Xianyang handled waves of delayed arrivals from the northeast and north China regions, while Chengdu Tianfu struggled with late inbound services from Beijing and Shanghai that were scheduled to turn around quickly onto onward flights to the southwest and Tibet. The result was a cascade of missed slots and crews timing out, forcing airlines to prioritize some departures and cancel or postpone others.
China Eastern, Air China and China Express Face Growing Backlogs
Among the airlines most affected are the large state controlled networks that dominate China’s domestic market. China Eastern, which has a major hub at Shanghai Pudong and a significant presence in Beijing and Xi’an, has been forced to cancel and delay dozens of services as fog and flow controls disrupted carefully planned rotations. Aircraft and crews arriving late into Shanghai have missed their departure slots by hours, requiring route swaps and, in some cases, overnight parking while teams reshuffle rosters.
Air China, with its core operations centered on Beijing Capital and a strong footprint at other major hubs, has experienced similar difficulties. Delayed arrivals into the capital have knocked onto long chains of domestic and regional routes, with some aircraft scheduled to complete multiple legs per day suddenly stranded out of position. Even when weather conditions briefly improved, crew duty limits and the need to carry additional fuel for diversions limited how fast the airline could restore normal operations.
Smaller and regional focused carriers such as China Express have also been hard hit, particularly on thinner routes linking provincial cities with the main coastal and inland hubs. With smaller fleets and fewer spare aircraft, a single cancellation or lengthy delay can remove a significant portion of available capacity on a given route. For travelers relying on one or two daily flights to reach secondary airports, that has meant unexpectedly long waits and, in some cases, enforced overnight stays far from home.
Passengers Confront Long Queues, Confused Information and Packed Hotels
For travelers on the ground, the numbers have translated into crowded terminals, snaking queues at airline counters and transfer desks, and a scramble for the dwindling supply of nearby hotel rooms. At Beijing and Shanghai in particular, stranded passengers reported lining up for several hours to rebook flights, only to discover that later departures were already oversold as airlines tried to consolidate disrupted services onto fewer aircraft.
Information consistency remains a sore point. While airport departure boards and airline apps typically update when flights are officially delayed or cancelled, many passengers complained that early indications of trouble were not clearly communicated. In several cases, travelers arrived at their gate to find no aircraft in sight but no formal delay posted, only for the status to change suddenly from “on time” to “delayed” by several hours or “cancelled” once crew and slot issues became apparent.
With many of the affected cities hosting large numbers of returning migrant workers and holidaymakers, nearby mid range and budget hotels have filled quickly, especially around Beijing Daxing, Shanghai Pudong and Chengdu Tianfu. Late in the day, some families were left searching for accommodation well outside the airport zone, adding ground transport complications to an already stressful journey. Social media channels carried images of passengers sleeping on terminal floors or queuing at service desks into the early hours.
What Travelers Need to Do Right Now
For those due to travel through China in the coming days, the immediate priority is to verify flight status and build in additional time and flexibility. Airlines are urging passengers to check their app or website frequently on the day of departure and to enable notifications, as rolling weather updates and flow control advisories can trigger schedule changes with little warning. If a flight is still listed as operating but delayed, travelers are advised to remain in touch with the airline before heading to the airport, particularly for early morning departures that are vulnerable to overnight fog.
Where cancellations have already been confirmed, affected passengers typically have three main options: accept an automatic rebooking on the next available service, request a change to an alternative route or destination within the same network, or apply for a refund subject to the fare rules in place. During significant irregular operations, many Chinese carriers relax change fees and allow one off free changes, but capacity on later flights can be extremely limited. Acting quickly via digital channels is often more effective than waiting in physical queues.
Travelers with tight onward connections, especially those using Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an or Chengdu as transit points for international itineraries, should contact both the originating and onward airlines if any delay exceeds one or two hours. In some cases, it may be safer to move to a next day connection rather than gamble on a narrow layover that could be wiped out by further slot restrictions. Passengers booking new trips that route through the affected hubs over the coming weeks may wish to allow longer connection times or look at alternative gateways in southern China that are less exposed to winter fog.
Rights, Remedies and Practical Steps if You Are Stranded
China’s regulatory framework for passenger rights differs from that in regions such as the European Union, but airlines do offer varying degrees of assistance during major disruptions, particularly when weather and air traffic control constraints are involved. While cash compensation for delays is not customary in purely weather driven events, carriers often provide meal vouchers, basic refreshments and, in some situations, hotel accommodation when overnight stays are unavoidable and no alternative same day flights exist.
Stranded passengers are encouraged to document their situation carefully, keeping boarding passes, booking confirmations and photographs of departure boards or app screens showing significant delays or cancellations. This documentation can help in obtaining written disruption certificates, which are widely used in China to support insurance claims or reimbursement requests through corporate travel policies. Many customer service desks at major airports can issue these certificates on request once the disruption has been formally recorded in the system.
Travel insurance can play a crucial role. Policies that cover missed connections, travel disruption or additional accommodation costs may reimburse hotel stays, meals and rebooking fees, even when the underlying cause is weather. However, most insurers require travelers to take reasonable steps to minimize losses, such as accepting offered rebookings or using recommended hotels, so passengers should consult their policy terms and keep receipts for all out of pocket expenses.
Airlines and Regulators Weigh Longer Term Responses
The latest wave of cancellations and delays has renewed debate within China’s aviation community about how to make the system more resilient to recurrent winter weather events. Industry analysts note that major hubs such as Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu have made substantial investments in new runways and terminals, but that supporting infrastructure such as advanced ground radar, de icing capacity and low visibility procedures must keep pace if the system is to maintain throughput when fog and low cloud descend.
Airlines are also reviewing how tightly they schedule aircraft and crews during peak travel periods. The combination of high load factors, minimal turnaround buffers and limited spare aircraft means that even a short weather disruption can cascade across hundreds of flights. Some operational planners argue that building in slightly longer ground times at key hubs and positioning more reserve crews could reduce knock on effects, though at the cost of lower utilization and potentially higher fares.
For now, both carriers and regulators are focusing on restoring stability before the end of the holiday season. That will depend heavily on how weather systems evolve around China’s eastern seaboard and interior basins over the coming days. If conditions improve, airlines may be able to gradually work through the backlog of displaced passengers by operating extra sections on key routes and upgauging aircraft where possible. If fog and low cloud persist, however, travelers should brace for further days of unpredictable schedules and crowded terminals.