Japan’s usually efficient air travel network has been thrown into disarray as a wave of cancellations and delays ripples across the country’s main domestic and regional corridors. All Nippon Airways (ANA), its regional arm ANA Wings, Ibex Airlines, Japan Airlines (JAL) and several other carriers are contending with a combined 371 flight cancellations and 1,710 delays, affecting tens of thousands of passengers. Major hubs including Tokyo, Sapporo, Osaka, Fukuoka and Hiroshima are bearing the brunt, with knock-on disruptions now visible across Japan’s entire domestic system.
Nationwide Disruption Hits Core Japanese Air Corridors
The present disruption is one of the most severe operational shocks to Japan’s domestic aviation network in recent months, with cancellations and delays concentrated along the country’s most heavily used city pairs. Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita airports, New Chitose serving Sapporo, Osaka’s Itami and Kansai airports, as well as Fukuoka and Hiroshima, are all reporting high volumes of late departures, missed connections and aircraft substitutions. Domestic operators are scrambling to reassign aircraft and crew in an effort to stabilize schedules, but the sheer scale of 371 cancellations and 1,710 delays has left sizable gaps in planned operations.
At Tokyo Haneda alone, fresh operational data show hundreds of delays and dozens of cancellations in a single day of trading, underscoring just how fragile tightly timed turnarounds can become when weather or network congestion intervenes. Recent figures indicate that Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways have each logged scores of delayed departures out of Haneda, with ANA Wings and niche domestic carriers such as Air Do, Solaseed Air and Skymark also registering significant disruption in their shorter-haul rotations. The problem is not confined to any single airline or alliance, but rather reflects a system-wide crunch in which a delay at one hub quickly cascades across multiple networks.
New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, Fukuoka in Kyushu and Naha in Okinawa are among the regional airports disproportionately affected by the latest congestion at Tokyo. These airports sit at the far ends of dense trunk routes that are heavily used by business and leisure travellers alike. When flights from Haneda or Itami run late or are scrubbed altogether, aircraft and crews are often left out of position, forcing carriers to cancel or retime subsequent legs. Added to this is the impact of seasonal weather conditions, which can limit runway capacity and mandate longer separation between aircraft, further compressing already tight daily schedules.
Key Carriers Under Pressure as Cancellations Mount
The current travel chaos has hit Japan’s two largest full service carriers, ANA and JAL, particularly hard, but they are far from alone. ANA’s mainline operations, its regional subsidiary ANA Wings, and partner carriers such as Ibex Airlines and Air Do are all reporting elevated levels of disruption as rotations are stretched and spare capacity is exhausted. ANA’s domestic operation, which already runs close to maximum utilization on many routes, has little slack when prolonged adverse conditions or technical issues arise, and the result has been an escalating tally of delays and last minute cancellations.
Japan Airlines is facing similar challenges. The carrier has already been managing a separate schedule disruption following damage to one of its long haul Airbus A350 aircraft at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport late in 2025, which triggered a wave of cancellations and aircraft substitutions on transpacific and transcontinental routes. That incident forced JAL to juggle its widebody fleet and had knock-on consequences for some connecting domestic passengers. Layering the current domestic irregular operations on top of that earlier structural constraint has stretched JAL’s ability to absorb additional shocks, particularly at Haneda and Narita.
Regional and hybrid carriers are also feeling the strain. Ibex Airlines, which operates regional jets linking secondary cities with major hubs, has seen its carefully choreographed schedule affected whenever mainline partners are delayed. ANA Wings, a crucial feeder operator within the ANA Group, has faced dozens of delays and several cancellations in recent days as congestion at Haneda ripples into smaller airports. Even where carriers manage to avoid outright cancellations, prolonged late running has eroded on time performance and forced airlines to re-accommodate passengers whose connections can no longer be met.
Tokyo, Sapporo, Osaka and Fukuoka at the Epicenter
Tokyo’s airports sit at the heart of the disruption. Haneda, the country’s busiest domestic hub, has recorded several hundred delayed flights within a single day and multiple cancellations affecting core routes to Sapporo, Fukuoka, Osaka, Kagoshima, Miyazaki and Naha. For many passengers, the trouble begins at check in, where screens increasingly show revised departure times and gate changes. The concentration of delayed rotations in and out of Haneda has turned what is normally one of the world’s most punctual airports into a choke point for domestic connectivity.
The impact is quickly felt at the other end of these routes. New Chitose Airport near Sapporo, which is heavily reliant on high frequency services to and from Haneda and Itami, has reported persistent delays and an elevated risk of cancellations whenever weather tightens operating windows in Hokkaido. At Osaka Itami, which functions as a domestic gateway for the Kansai region, late arriving aircraft from Tokyo and northern Japan have caused rolling knock ons throughout the day, compressing ground times and straining airport infrastructure.
Fukuoka, a key hub for Kyushu, and Hiroshima, a major point on the domestic network in western Honshu, are experiencing similar pressure. Flights to and from Tokyo and Osaka often serve as feeders for travellers heading toward more remote cities, meaning a delay in these large regional gateways can easily sever a chain of onward connections. In some cases, passengers arriving late into Fukuoka or Hiroshima have found that their final domestic leg has already departed, leaving them to seek hotel accommodation or alternative ground transport at short notice.
Passengers Stranded, Rebooked and Rerouted Across Japan
For travellers, the practical consequences of 371 cancellations and 1,710 delays across multiple carriers are immediate and deeply frustrating. At airports such as Haneda, New Chitose and Fukuoka, long queues have formed at airline service counters as passengers seek rebooking options, refund information and meal or hotel vouchers. Some travellers have described waiting for hours in crowded terminal areas as updated departure times slip further into the evening, with limited clarity as to whether their flight will ultimately operate.
Missed connections are a particular concern for those relying on Japan’s normally tight domestic and international transfer windows. Passengers arriving late into Haneda from regional cities face a high risk of missing onward flights to long haul destinations in North America and Europe. Although carriers are attempting to prioritize disrupted connecting passengers where possible, finite seat availability and strict curfew limits at major airports mean that some customers are forced to accept next day departures or entirely different routings.
Families, business travellers and inbound tourists are all feeling the impact. Hotel bookings and tour itineraries are being hastily reworked, while corporate travellers are missing scheduled meetings or conferences. In some cases, passengers have opted to shift to Japan’s high speed rail network for journeys along the Tokyo Osaka or Tokyo Hiroshima corridors, seeking more predictable arrival times even if the journey may be longer or more expensive on short notice. Others have chosen to wait out the disruption in the hope that flight operations will stabilize over the coming days.
Operational and Structural Factors Behind the Chaos
While each delay or cancellation has its own direct cause, the broader pattern points to a combination of operational and structural factors that have left Japanese carriers more exposed to disruptions. Seasonal weather has always been a challenge in a country that spans multiple climate zones, and heavy snowfall in northern regions, strong winds and low cloud around coastal airports can quickly degrade capacity. Even modest reductions in departure and arrival rates at a major hub can trigger a queue of aircraft waiting for clearance, feeding into rolling delays throughout the day.
At the same time, Japan’s airlines are operating within a constrained fleet and maintenance environment. Aircraft delivery delays and the grounding or repair of specific long haul types have already forced some carriers to maximize utilization of their existing fleets. When an aircraft goes out of service unexpectedly, there may be no spare capacity available to backfill scheduled flights, especially on popular domestic routes. Resource reallocation in the wake of international incidents, such as Japan Airlines’ damage to an A350 in New York, only heightens the vulnerability of tightly balanced timetables.
Industry consolidation and restructuring are also reshaping capacity and route structures. ANA Group has already announced plans to wind down its Air Japan brand by the end of March 2026, consolidating widebody operations into its core ANA and Peach units. While this move is primarily aimed at improving long term efficiency and profitability, it highlights the degree to which airlines are rethinking network design under persistent supply chain and demand uncertainties. As carriers adjust, transitional phases can temporarily reduce redundancy on certain city pairs, increasing the impact when storms, technical issues or air traffic restrictions strike.
How Airlines Are Responding and What Passengers Can Expect
Airlines are deploying a mix of short term and medium term measures to manage the immediate crisis and prevent a repeat of the most severe disruptions. In the near term, carriers are adding extra sections on select domestic routes where crew and aircraft availability permit, giving stranded passengers more options to reach key hubs such as Tokyo and Osaka. Some airlines have proactively reduced frequencies on routes where demand is more flexible, hoping to build slack into their schedules and protect critical trunk services from cascading delays.
Operational teams at ANA, JAL and partner carriers are also refining turnaround processes and communication channels to keep passengers better informed. Real time updates via mobile apps and airport displays play a central role, though passengers continue to report that gate changes and revised departure times can still lag behind actual conditions when disruptions are widespread. Airlines have reiterated that travellers should check the latest flight status on official channels before heading to the airport, especially during periods of adverse weather or heavy network congestion.
In the medium term, Japanese airlines are investing in updated passenger service systems and airport process reforms intended to streamline check in, boarding and rebooking. ANA, for instance, has signaled system changes for domestic operations that will alter how standby and codeshare check in is handled, aiming to better coordinate multi carrier itineraries and reduce confusion when irregular operations occur. These changes, while not an immediate fix for the present disruption, are designed to make the system more resilient in the face of future shocks.
Advice for Travellers Navigating the Current Turmoil
For passengers with upcoming travel in or through Japan, the latest wave of cancellations and delays is a reminder to build additional time and flexibility into itineraries. Travellers connecting from domestic flights to international long haul services should consider earlier feeder flights where possible, reducing the risk that a moderate delay leads to a missed onward departure. Where dates are not fixed, choosing midday or early afternoon services rather than late evening departures may offer more rebooking options if flights are disrupted.
Experts also recommend that passengers make full use of airline apps and notification services. Registering contact details with the carrier allows automated alerts for schedule changes, gate updates and rebooking options, often well before information is reflected on airport screens. When large scale irregular operations are underway, self service tools for changing flights can be significantly faster than waiting in physical queues at crowded service counters.
Finally, travellers should remain aware that these disruptions are part of a broader period of adjustment for Japan’s aviation sector, which is contending with evolving weather patterns, aircraft availability constraints and ongoing network realignments. While Japan’s airlines have historically ranked among the world’s most punctual, the current turbulence underscores that even the most efficient systems can be strained. For now, patience, preparation and proactive monitoring remain the best tools for anyone planning to fly into, out of or within Japan while the country’s carriers work to restore stable, reliable operations.