Thousands of air travelers across China are facing severe disruption after a wave of cancellations and delays hit major domestic carriers including Juneyao Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Chengdu Airlines, China Eastern and several regional operators.

Operational data compiled from Chinese aviation trackers and industry reports shows at least 57 flights canceled and well over 1,000 delayed within a short window, snarling operations at key hubs such as Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Beijing, Shenyang and Lanzhou and leaving terminals packed with stranded passengers searching for answers.

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Wave of Cancellations and Delays Sweeps Key Chinese Hubs

The latest bout of disruption has cascaded through China’s dense domestic network, with Shanghai Pudong and Shanghai Hongqiao, Zhengzhou Xinzheng, Beijing Capital and Beijing Daxing, Shenyang Taoxian and Lanzhou Zhongchuan among the hardest hit. Tracking data points to more than 1,000 delays across the system tied to weather constraints, air traffic control flow restrictions and rolling knock on effects from earlier schedule disruptions in eastern and central China.

Among individual carriers, Juneyao, Shenzhen, Sichuan, Chengdu Airlines and China Eastern have all logged cancellations and extensive delays as they attempt to reset aircraft rotations and crew schedules. International and regional reports show patterns of similar disruption in recent months, with China Eastern repeatedly among airlines registering some of the world’s highest single day delay counts, underscoring the strain on China’s aviation infrastructure during peak travel periods.

While some cancellations involve relatively short domestic sectors like Shanghai to Taiyuan or Shenyang to Shenzhen, the operational impact is magnified by densely banked schedules and tight aircraft turnarounds. A single grounded aircraft can trigger a chain reaction across multiple cities, contributing to the elevated delay figures now frustrating travelers from the Yangtze River Delta to the country’s northeast and northwest.

What Is Driving the Latest Disruptions

A combination of winter weather, air traffic control restrictions and staffing constraints appears to be at the heart of the latest wave of disruptions. Recent industry bulletins from mobility and visa services firms have documented how heavy fog in the Yangtze River Delta, low visibility conditions in northern China and temporary technical outages at control centers have previously produced hundreds of delays and dozens of cancellations in a single day across Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu. Those patterns are being echoed in the current disruptions, with adverse conditions in just a few major hubs rippling through the national network.

Analysts also point to structural issues. After a rapid recovery in domestic travel demand, airlines and airports are still working to rebuild staffing levels in ground handling, maintenance and air traffic control. Reports from late 2025 highlighted how holiday surges exposed labor shortages at key airports like Shanghai Pudong and Guangzhou Baiyun, with more than 2,000 delays recorded on a single peak day as carriers struggled to turn aircraft and re accommodate passengers quickly.

Operational complexity is further heightened by a sharp realignment of international capacity, particularly on routes between mainland China and Japan. Industry data suggests that as Chinese carriers have canceled a large proportion of Japan bound flights because of safety concerns and diplomatic tensions, more aircraft and crew have been redeployed onto domestic and alternative regional routes. This has made schedules more tightly wound and vulnerable to weather or technical shocks, which can quickly spill into the sort of mass delays currently being seen in Shanghai, Zhengzhou and Beijing.

Scenes of Congestion and Passenger Frustration

Inside major terminals, the human impact of the statistics is unmistakable. Witness accounts and social media images from recent disruption days in China’s big hubs show passengers camped out on the floor, departure boards filled with red delay markers and long lines at customer service counters. Similar scenes played out during significant delay events in November and December, when data providers recorded more than 500 and then more than 2,100 delays across Chinese airports on two separate days, crowding departure halls late into the night.

Travelers transiting through Shanghai, Zhengzhou and Beijing now describe comparable conditions, with limited seating, shortages of hotel rooms near airports and confusion over compensation or rebooking options. Families with small children and elderly passengers are particularly affected. Some domestic travelers have resorted to overnight high speed train journeys when seats can be found, while others remain in limbo as airlines struggle to clear backlogs.

Memories of past turbulence in China’s aviation system also loom large. A decade ago, protracted weather related delays and poor communication at Zhengzhou Xinzheng led to passenger unrest that drew national attention. While security and customer service protocols have improved since then, the current situation is again testing airlines’ ability to keep stranded travelers informed and calm during cascading schedule failures.

Impact on Business Travel and Regional Connectivity

The timing of the latest disruptions is particularly painful for China’s business travelers and for regional economies that rely heavily on air links to Shanghai and Beijing. With many companies planning year opening meetings and negotiations in January, canceled and heavily delayed flights have forced last minute switches to videoconferencing or outright postponements. Business groups note that while virtual alternatives are more accepted today, relationship driven sectors in China still depend on face to face contact that requires predictable air service.

Secondary cities such as Shenyang and Lanzhou are also feeling the strain. These hubs depend on reliable feeder flights to connect passengers onward via Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Guangzhou. When trunk routes are disrupted, travelers in provincial capitals can find themselves stranded with no easy rail fallback, especially on cross country itineraries. Tourism stakeholders say this undercuts efforts to promote inland destinations, as would be visitors face mounting uncertainty about whether they can reach smaller cities on schedule.

Some multinational firms have already instructed staff to build extra buffer days into itineraries that involve multiple domestic legs in China, acknowledging that systemic fragility may persist through the winter and into the busy Lunar New Year period. Travel managers are monitoring real time data from platforms that aggregate cancellations and delays to reroute executives away from worst hit hubs when possible.

How Airlines and Airports Are Responding

Carriers involved in the current disruption wave are deploying a familiar toolkit of crisis responses. Juneyao, Shenzhen, Sichuan, Chengdu Airlines and China Eastern have all opened additional customer service channels on their apps and social media accounts, issuing rolling updates on rebooking policies and limited same day refunds where regulations allow. In some cases, airlines are extending fee waivers on change requests, especially when meteorological and air traffic control advisories are in force.

On the ground, airport authorities in Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Beijing and other affected hubs have activated large scale delay contingency plans, coordinating with airlines to prioritize flights with tight onward connections and vulnerable passenger groups. During previous major disruptions, airports such as Tianjin Binhai have invoked emergency procedures that include the rapid deployment of extra staff, the distribution of food and water and the arrangement of overnight accommodation for thousands of stranded travelers when operational stoppages dragged on for hours.

Industry observers note that Chinese regulators have pushed airlines in recent years to improve their handling of mass delays and cancellations, with a sharper focus on transparent communications and basic care for passengers. Even so, the sheer volume of disrupted flights currently moving through the system means that many travelers are still struggling to access timely, accurate information amid crowded terminals and overloaded call centers.

What This Means for Upcoming Travel in China

The latest spike in cancellations and delays is a warning signal for anyone planning to fly within or through China in the coming weeks. Aviation data for late 2025 already showed a pattern of repeated large scale disruption events tied to weather systems, holiday demand surges and network realignments. With winter conditions continuing and the Lunar New Year peak approaching, the risk of additional mass delays remains elevated.

Travel planners recommend that visitors build flexibility into their itineraries, avoiding tight same day connections between domestic and international flights, especially through mega hubs like Shanghai Pudong, Beijing Capital and Chengdu Shuangliu. Where possible, booking earlier flights in the day can reduce exposure to knock on delays that accumulate by evening. Travelers connecting to long haul services may also wish to schedule overnight layovers in hub cities so that a missed domestic leg does not jeopardize an entire intercontinental trip.

The disruption is also likely to influence corporate travel policies. Some companies are reevaluating whether to route regional staff through particularly congested airports, while others are temporarily shifting meetings to cities with more robust rail alternatives if flights become unreliable. Tourism boards and destination marketers will be watching closely to see whether repeated headlines about stranded travelers dent consumer confidence just as China’s outbound and inbound travel sectors are attempting a sustained recovery.

FAQ

Q1. Which airlines are most affected by the latest wave of disruptions in China?
Juneyao Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Chengdu Airlines and China Eastern are among the carriers reporting significant numbers of cancellations and delays, alongside several regional operators that feed into major hubs like Shanghai, Zhengzhou and Beijing.

Q2. Which airports in China are currently seeing the worst congestion?
Shanghai Pudong and Hongqiao, Zhengzhou Xinzheng, Beijing Capital and Daxing, Shenyang Taoxian and Lanzhou Zhongchuan are among the airports experiencing heavy disruption, with crowded terminals and long lines at service counters as airlines work through backlogs.

Q3. How many flights have been canceled or delayed in this latest disruption?
Operational data points to at least 57 outright cancellations linked to the affected airlines, along with well over 1,000 delays across China’s domestic network over a compressed time frame, though precise totals continue to fluctuate as schedules are adjusted.

Q4. What are the main causes behind these widespread delays and cancellations?
Winter weather, including fog and low clouds, combined with air traffic control flow restrictions, staffing constraints in ground handling and maintenance, and knock on effects from earlier disruption events have all contributed to the current wave of cancellations and delays.

Q5. How are airlines assisting stranded passengers at affected airports?
Airlines are offering rebooking on later flights, limited fee waivers or flexible change policies, and in some cases providing meal vouchers and hotel accommodation when delays extend overnight, although the level of support can vary by carrier and by the official cause of the disruption.

Q6. Are passengers entitled to financial compensation for these disruptions in China?
China’s regulatory framework requires airlines to provide certain forms of care and assistance, but cash compensation is not as broad as in some other jurisdictions, and obligations depend on whether the disruption is deemed within the carrier’s control or caused by factors such as severe weather or air traffic control restrictions.

Q7. What should travelers do if their flight within China is delayed or canceled?
Travelers should first check their airline’s app or official channels for rebooking options, then contact customer service as early as possible, and consider alternative routes or high speed rail where available while keeping all receipts in case partial reimbursement or insurance claims are possible later.

Q8. How far in advance should I arrive at a Chinese airport during periods of disruption?
During heavy disruption days, arriving at least three hours before departure for domestic flights and four hours for international flights is advisable, as check in, security and rebooking lines can be significantly longer than usual, especially at major hubs.

Q9. Is it safer to book morning flights in China when disruptions are common?
Morning departures generally face fewer accumulated knock on delays, so travelers who can choose early flights often have a better chance of leaving close to schedule and more options to be rebooked later in the day if something goes wrong.

Q10. How might these disruptions affect travel around the Lunar New Year period?
The Lunar New Year is already one of the busiest travel seasons in China, and if current patterns of weather and staffing related disruptions continue, travelers could see further spikes in delays and cancellations, making advance planning and flexible itineraries especially important.