Travelers heading to and from China are facing a new wave of disruption as major carriers including Air China, China Eastern, China Southern and Delta Air Lines cancel or adjust dozens of flights serving key hubs such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu. The latest tracking data, released on February 13, 2026, shows 40 flight cancellations tied to these and other airlines over a short operating window, alongside more than 1,500 delays at China’s busiest airports. The disruption, coming in the middle of the peak Lunar New Year travel period and amid broader geopolitical and capacity pressures, is once again testing the resilience and patience of international and domestic travelers.
What Is Behind the Latest Wave of Cancellations
The newest round of China flight cancellations is being driven by a complex mix of operational, regulatory and geopolitical factors rather than a single cause. Aviation data from Chinese and third party trackers indicates that major carriers have been trimming or consolidating selected departures in order to cope with congested airspace, winter weather patterns, crew duty time limits and rapidly shifting demand on specific international routes. While 40 flights may appear modest compared with the hundreds or even thousands of disruptions reported in earlier episodes, the cancellations are highly concentrated on trunk routes, magnifying their impact on connectivity.
At the same time, broader structural pressures are feeding into this latest travel shock. Since late 2025, China’s aviation system has experienced several spikes of disruption involving large numbers of cancellations and delays at Beijing Capital, Shanghai Pudong, Shanghai Hongqiao, Guangzhou Baiyun and Chengdu, often triggered by weather or operational crises. These incidents have already stretched airlines’ scheduling flexibility. Carriers have responded with increasingly conservative rostering and more aggressive pruning of less profitable or politically sensitive routes, especially on international sectors.
Geopolitics is also playing a visible role. Over the past several months, Chinese airlines have sharply reduced services to Japan, canceling dozens of routes and cutting scheduled flights by more than half compared with earlier plans for winter 2025 to 2026. This recalibration has left aircraft and crew needing to be redeployed elsewhere in the network, and contributed to a rolling pattern of last minute adjustments, including to flights serving Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou that connect onward to North America and Southeast Asia.
How Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu Are Affected
The brunt of the latest disruption is falling on China’s primary international hubs. Shanghai Pudong remains the most heavily impacted airport, reflecting its central role in connecting long haul services operated by Air China, China Eastern, China Southern and foreign partners like Delta. Data released on February 13 points to hundreds of delays and multiple cancellations in and out of Pudong in a single day, with additional flight cuts spread over a several day period to reach the total of 40 axed departures now reported by industry trackers. Nearby Shanghai Hongqiao, a key domestic and regional hub, is also seeing cancellations ripple across its tightly timed shuttle services to cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu.
In Beijing, both the traditional Capital International Airport and the newer Daxing hub are seeing targeted cancellations mainly on routes that connect into regional markets in Asia and on some high frequency domestic sectors. Air China and China Eastern have been at the center of this shift, consolidating flights and focusing on preserving peak bank connections where possible. Travelers passing through Beijing are experiencing particular strain when attempting same day connections, as modest schedule changes can erase previously comfortable transfer windows.
Guangzhou Baiyun and Chengdu Shuangliu, significant hubs for China Southern and key bases for other mainland airlines, are registering smaller absolute numbers of cancellations but remain acutely affected when a single long haul departure is removed. Cases where one daily international service is canceled temporarily eliminate a city pair entirely, forcing passengers into multi stop routings via Seoul, Hong Kong or other Asian hubs. With Guangzhou and Chengdu heavily integrated into China’s domestic network, even a handful of canceled flights can create a knock on effect across interior cities.
The Role of Major Airlines Including Delta
Among the airlines most visibly affected are China’s big three: Air China, China Eastern and China Southern. Recent operational summaries for February 13 show that these carriers together account for the majority of flight delays in China, alongside a notable share of the cancellations. Air China and China Eastern in particular have each logged multiple cancellations within a single day at key hubs, while China Southern has seen flight performance eroded by extensive delays across its domestic network.
International partners are not immune. Delta Air Lines, which operates nonstop services linking U.S. gateways to Shanghai and other Chinese hubs, features in the latest disruption statistics with at least one cancellation and an additional delay reported on February 13. As U.S. China capacity remains tightly controlled and still below pre pandemic levels, any single cancellation on these routes has outsized consequences. Seats on alternative same day flights are limited, while rebooking options via third country hubs are constrained by visa requirements and airline partnership structures.
Other Chinese carriers are caught at the margins of the disruption. Shenzhen Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Juneyao and Shanghai Airlines are all reporting significant delays and occasional cancellations as they attempt to navigate congested airspace and airport bottlenecks. Their operational challenges contribute to a system wide strain that makes it more difficult for larger carriers to recover quickly from schedule disruptions, especially when aircraft and crew are spread thin across long domestic stage lengths and expanding international networks.
Impact on Travelers During the Lunar New Year Rush
The timing of the latest disruptions could hardly be more challenging for travelers. The current wave comes in the early weeks of the 40 day Lunar New Year travel season, historically the world’s largest annual human migration. Passenger volumes across China climb sharply during this period as workers return to home provinces, families reunite and outbound tourists take advantage of the holiday window. Even minor adjustments to capacity can translate into tens of thousands of affected travelers when load factors are high.
For those flying into or out of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu, the immediate effects are longer queues at check in and security, congested boarding areas and crowded customer service counters as passengers seek rebooking options. In many cases, airlines are attempting to consolidate lightly loaded flights while protecting peak departures, leaving some passengers re routed to less convenient times or through secondary hubs. Same day travel for business passengers and tight connection windows for long haul itineraries are proving particularly vulnerable.
Accommodation and ground transport are also feeling the strain. When cancellations or long delays strike late in the day, hotels near major airports are seeing surges in last minute bookings, with prices tending to spike during peak travel periods. Rail and long distance bus operators, already heavily booked for the holiday season, have limited ability to absorb spillover demand from canceled flights. Travelers stranded overnight or diverted to alternate airports are facing longer journeys to reach their final destinations, often without clear guidance on compensation or support.
China Japan Routes Provide a Warning Signal
One of the clearest warning signs of mounting tension in China’s aviation landscape is the dramatic reduction in air links with Japan. Since late 2025, Chinese carriers have progressively pared back their schedules to Japanese destinations, canceling wave after wave of flights as diplomatic friction and public sentiment cooled demand. By mid January 2026, route data compiled by independent analysts indicated that Chinese airlines had dropped more than 50 China Japan routes from their winter 2025 to 2026 operation, driving capacity reductions of more than 50 percent compared with earlier schedule filings.
The trend has intensified moving into the Lunar New Year peak. Fresh figures published on February 12 show that all flights on 58 separate China Japan routes were canceled in the first week of the holiday travel rush. Cancellations have been heavily concentrated on services linking Chinese cities such as Beijing, Ningbo and Shenyang to Osaka Kansai, with many travelers apparently diverting their holiday plans to South Korea and Southeast Asian countries instead. Airlines have had to adjust rapidly to this pivot in demand, reassigning aircraft or grounding capacity while renegotiating slot usage at congested airports.
For the broader network, the China Japan retrenchment offers a case study in how quickly airline planning can be upended by policy signals and geopolitical shifts. Routes that only months earlier were earmarked for expansion have been pulled entirely, and new or resumed services to alternative destinations are taking time to mature. The resulting patchwork of capacity makes it more likely that airlines will tactically cancel or consolidate other flights, including those serving China’s domestic hubs and long haul markets, when conditions change with little warning.
Lessons From Previous Disruption Waves
The current episode is unfolding against a backdrop of repeated disruption events in China’s skies over the past year. In late 2025, Chinese mainland airports recorded several major days of operational stress, with data from flight tracking platforms showing more than 100 cancellations and over 500 delays in a single tracking period at one point. Another incident saw thousands of flight disruptions, including hundreds of cancellations, across Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, prompting calls from consumer advocates for better oversight and passenger protection.
Weather has also been a significant catalyst. A severe winter weather system in mid December 2025 brought snow and freezing conditions to parts of northern and central China, forcing over 150 flight cancellations and several hundred delays at core hubs including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu. Airlines cited a combination of runway closures, aircraft de icing requirements, military airspace restrictions and crew duty limitations as they struggled to maintain even a skeleton schedule in challenging conditions.
Each of these past events has left a mark on how airlines and airports prepare for peak periods. Carriers have invested in operational control centers, data driven disruption management tools and closer coordination with air traffic control. However, the sheer scale of China’s domestic aviation network, combined with ongoing international expansion and shifting geopolitical headwinds, means that even incremental shocks can cascade quickly. The latest 40 flight cancellation episode illustrates how vulnerable travelers remain when multiple risk factors converge.
What Travelers Should Expect in the Coming Weeks
Looking ahead through the remainder of the Lunar New Year travel window and into early spring 2026, travelers can expect persistent volatility rather than an immediate return to smooth operations. Schedule data for the winter 2025 to 2026 season already reflects sizable cuts on certain international routes, particularly to Japan, and airlines will continue to fine tune domestic capacity as demand patterns become clearer after the holiday. That means sporadic cancellations, equipment changes and time shifts are likely to remain a feature of flying in and out of China’s major hubs.
For international travelers, the tight capacity between China and North America, Europe and parts of Asia will amplify the impact of any individual cancellation. With only a limited number of daily flights operated by carriers such as Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Delta and other partners, alternatives may involve waiting 24 hours or more or re routing via third country hubs, sometimes requiring additional visas or security screenings. Booking well in advance, building in generous connection times and monitoring flight status closely will remain prudent strategies.
Domestic travelers, meanwhile, should brace for localized bottlenecks at airports facing bad weather or airspace constraints, particularly in northern and western China where winter conditions can be severe. Flexibility will be key: travelers with critical time sensitive plans may want to secure earlier flights in the day, when recovery options are more plentiful, or consider high speed rail on routes where it offers a viable alternative. Given the elevated demand typical of the season, last minute changes are likely to be costly and options limited.
How Airlines and Authorities Are Likely to Respond
Airlines and regulators are acutely aware that sustained disruption risks undermining confidence just as China’s aviation market continues its post pandemic recovery. Industry statements over recent months have emphasized efforts to refine scheduling, coordinate better with air traffic management and invest in new technology to improve on time performance. The pattern of targeted cancellations seen in the most recent 40 flight reduction suggests that carriers are attempting to manage disruption proactively by trimming vulnerable flights rather than allowing widespread knock on delays to build throughout the day.
Authorities are also signaling a stronger focus on passenger rights and system resilience. Chinese aviation regulators have previously highlighted the need for airlines to comply with compensation rules for significant delays and cancellations, and there have been calls in policy circles and local media for more transparent communication during disruption events. In practice, implementation remains uneven across carriers and airports, but rising public attention may push operators to ensure more consistent provision of meals, hotel accommodation and rebooking assistance when schedules unravel.
Over the medium term, investments in infrastructure and fleet modernization could ease some of the pressure points that contribute to repeated disruption. New runways and expanded terminals at major hubs, the gradual deployment of more fuel efficient widebody aircraft and the introduction of new generation narrowbodies such as the COMAC C919 into domestic fleets all have the potential to improve reliability and flexibility. For now, however, the combination of intense seasonal demand, evolving international dynamics and an already stretched operational environment means that travelers planning trips to, from or within China in early 2026 should remain prepared for sudden changes.