Hundreds of passengers were left stranded across Southeast Asia over the past 24 hours as a fresh wave of flight delays and cancellations rippled through Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. A total of 1,198 flights were delayed and 21 were cancelled across key hubs including Singapore Changi, Jakarta Soekarno Hatta, Bali Denpasar, Makassar, Manila and Cebu, affecting services on Singapore Airlines, Lion Air, Batik Air, Cebu Pacific Air, Scoot and several regional partners. The disruptions, which stretched from early morning departures to late evening arrivals, underscored how fragile airline operations in the region remain amid surging demand, congested airspace and lingering capacity constraints.
Wide Disruptions From Changi To Jakarta And Beyond
Operational data compiled from major airport boards and aviation analytics providers on February 10 and 11, 2026, show an intense concentration of delays across Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines, with knock-on effects spreading through regional networks. In total, 1,198 flights were delayed, ranging from short postponements of 30 to 45 minutes to groundings of more than three hours, while 21 flights were outright cancelled. These figures mirror a broader pattern of mounting disruption across Asia this month, with several recent days already registering more than 1,000 delayed flights regionwide.
Jakarta’s Soekarno Hatta International once again emerged as one of the most affected airports. The Indonesian capital has featured repeatedly in recent tallies of large-scale disruptions, reflecting its role as a heavily congested hub for domestic and international traffic. Nearby Bali Denpasar and Makassar’s Sultan Hasanuddin International also reported clusters of delayed and cancelled flights, interrupting both holiday travel and essential domestic links between Indonesia’s islands.
In Singapore, Changi Airport’s status as a regional super-hub magnified the impact of each operational hiccup. Changi handled almost 70 million passengers in 2025, a record for the airport and a clear sign that volumes have not only recovered but exceeded pre-pandemic levels. With aircraft movements and passenger numbers still rising, even a modest rise in delays quickly cascades across connecting flights, leaving transit passengers in particular vulnerable to missed onward journeys and long rebooking lines.
In the Philippines, Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Mactan-Cebu International Airport were key flashpoints. The country’s aviation system has been running hot since late 2025, when regulators projected more than one million passengers would pass through domestic and international terminals during the Christmas and New Year rush alone. That surge has largely continued into the first quarter of 2026, stretching infrastructure and staffing at already busy gateways.
Airlines Under Pressure: Singapore Airlines, Lion Air, Batik Air, Cebu Pacific And Scoot
The latest disruption wave has hit both full-service and low-cost carriers operating in and out of Southeast Asia’s busiest hubs. Singapore Airlines, the flag carrier and anchor airline at Changi, faced a series of delayed regional departures and late-running long-haul arrivals that disrupted carefully choreographed bank structures designed to feed its global network. While most Singapore Airlines flights operated, passengers reported missed connections and extended waits as the carrier sought to re-accommodate those impacted.
Low-cost operators Lion Air and Batik Air, both major players in Indonesia’s domestic and short-haul international markets, were also heavily affected. These airlines already operate in a tightly scheduled environment, with high aircraft utilization and relatively slim buffers. When weather, congestion or technical inspections intervene, the result can be a rapid build-up of delays across their networks. Recent regional reports have repeatedly named Batik Air and other Indonesian carriers among those most exposed when Asia-wide disruption spikes.
Cebu Pacific Air, which has benefited from surging post-pandemic demand across the Philippines and key regional routes, has likewise struggled to keep schedules on track. With Philippine regulators reporting strong growth in air traffic and airlines adding flights to capitalize on demand, Cebu Pacific has had little margin for error at busy periods. The carrier has also had to navigate occasional technology-related disruptions affecting the broader industry, underscoring the vulnerability of modern flight operations to both physical and digital bottlenecks.
Scoot, Singapore Airlines’ low-cost subsidiary, has faced its own structural challenges. The airline has previously acknowledged that supply chain issues and shortages of certain spare parts, particularly for engines used on narrowbody aircraft, have forced it to proactively trim parts of its schedule. As these fleet limitations intersect with spikes in regional congestion or weather-related delays, Scoot and similar operators are sometimes left with few options beyond last-minute cancellations or significant rescheduling, inconveniencing passengers even when demand for seats remains high.
Passengers Stranded At Asia’s Busiest Hubs
For travelers on the ground, the statistics translated into a very human picture of disruption on February 10 and 11. At Jakarta, Bali and Makassar, domestic passengers reported long lines at service counters as Lion Air, Batik Air and other carriers tried to juggle rebookings, hotel vouchers and meal allowances. Families heading for holiday breaks in Bali or returning home after the school holidays found themselves sleeping on terminal benches or scrambling to find last-minute accommodation near the airports.
In Singapore, transit passengers bore the brunt of the chaos. Changi Airport’s role as a connecting hub means that delays in one part of Asia can strand travelers headed for Europe, Australia, the Middle East or North America. Missed connections triggered a cascade of re-routing and overnight layovers. Although the airport is known for its amenities and passenger services, many travelers expressed frustration that what should have been a seamless one-stop journey turned into an unplanned 24-hour stopover.
At Manila and Cebu, passenger experiences were compounded by infrastructure constraints at older terminals and finite gate and runway capacity. During recent peak seasons, Philippine authorities have highlighted how quickly volume spikes can strain security, baggage handling and air traffic management systems. Over the past two days, delayed inbound aircraft from Indonesia and Singapore further compressed already tight turnaround times, leading to late departures on subsequent domestic legs and extending the chain of disruption well beyond the original problem flights.
Across the region, social media posts and local media reports described queues snaking around check-in and rebooking desks, with some passengers claiming limited information about the causes of delays and their options. While most airlines cited a combination of congestion, weather and aircraft rotation issues, the fragmented nature of operations across multiple jurisdictions meant that few travelers had a clear understanding of the bigger picture as they waited.
Root Causes: Capacity Crunch, Weather And Fleet Limitations
The immediate triggers for the latest 1,198 delays and 21 cancellations varied from airport to airport, but industry observers point to a cluster of underlying structural pressures. First among these is the rapid rebound and subsequent growth in air travel across Asia. In Singapore, Changi’s near 70 million passengers in 2025 illustrate how quickly the region has moved beyond recovery into new record territory. Similarly, Philippine traffic data show volumes rapidly converging on or surpassing pre-pandemic levels, while Indonesia’s massive domestic market continues to expand.
That growth has outpaced the pace at which infrastructure and fleets can be upgraded. Runways, taxiways and terminal facilities built for an earlier era of demand are now operating close to capacity for much of the day. At peak times, relatively minor weather systems such as thunderstorms over Jakarta or low visibility near Manila can trigger ground stops or flow restrictions, which leave aircraft and crews in the wrong place at the wrong time. With rotations tightly scheduled to maximize aircraft use, subsequent flights soon fall behind.
Airlines are also still grappling with fleet constraints and maintenance challenges. A combination of engine inspection mandates, spare parts shortages and delayed aircraft deliveries has reduced flexibility for many carriers, particularly low-cost operators that depend on high utilization of a standardized fleet. In recent months, Asian carriers including Scoot have publicly cited shortages of critical parts as a factor behind schedule adjustments. When an aircraft goes out of service unexpectedly, there is often no ready substitute available, leading directly to cancellations or very long delays.
In addition, the complexity of modern airline networks increases the likelihood that localized disturbances will ripple across borders. Flights that link Jakarta with Singapore or Manila with Cebu often form part of multi-leg journeys for aircraft and crew. A storm in one sector can therefore create problems for operations in another country hours later. With regional hubs like Changi, Jakarta and Manila handling dense banks of arrivals and departures, the margin for absorbing these shocks remains slim.
Economic And Tourism Impacts Across Southeast Asia
The immediate economic impact of 1,198 delayed and 21 cancelled flights over a 24-hour window is difficult to quantify, but the disruptions clearly carry costs for airlines, airports, tourism operators and passengers. For carriers, irregular operations translate into higher fuel burn from holding patterns, overtime for crews, compensation for delayed or displaced travelers and, in some cases, regulatory penalties. For airports, congestion stretches staffing and security resources, potentially undermining service quality at a time when many hubs are positioning themselves as premium gateways.
The tourism sector in destinations such as Bali, Cebu and Singapore is particularly sensitive to reliability. Hoteliers and tour operators reported a spike in late check-ins, shortened stays and re-arranged excursions as guests arrived hours or even a day later than planned. In Indonesia and the Philippines, where domestic tourism has been a vital driver of post-pandemic economic recovery, persistent operational disruptions risk denting confidence among local travelers who have only recently returned to flying in large numbers.
Business travelers are also affected. Meetings missed in Jakarta or Singapore can cascade into delayed projects or lost deals, especially in industries where in-person negotiations remain important. Southeast Asia’s role as a manufacturing and logistics hub means that disruptions to passenger flights can indirectly affect the movement of time-sensitive cargo in belly holds, even when dedicated freighter operations continue to run according to plan.
More broadly, repeated headlines about stranded passengers and extensive delays may influence how travelers choose between airlines and routings in the months ahead. While many understand that weather and isolated technical problems are unavoidable, they are less forgiving when disruption appears chronic or when communication on the ground is poor. For carriers and airports, protecting the region’s reputation as a convenient, well-connected air travel corridor will require visible improvements in resilience.
How Airlines And Airports Are Responding
In response to the latest wave of disruptions, airlines across Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines moved to adjust schedules, reinforce customer communication and strengthen operational buffers. Several carriers activated contingency plans that prioritize long-haul and high-load routes, accepting deeper cuts or retimings on lightly booked or short-haul services to free up crews and aircraft. At key hubs, extra staff were deployed to rebooking counters and call centers to handle the surge in passenger inquiries.
Singapore Changi Airport has continued to promote investments in air traffic management and terminal systems designed to enhance punctuality. After reporting record traffic volumes for 2025, airport authorities highlighted ongoing efforts to optimize runway usage and gate allocation, as well as closer collaboration with airlines to smooth peak periods. While such measures cannot eliminate disruptions during severe weather or major technical incidents, they aim to reduce the frequency and duration of secondary delays.
In the Philippines, regulators and airport operators have been pursuing structural reforms to alleviate congestion at Manila by redistributing certain types of flights to other airports, including Clark. Domestic carriers such as Cebu Pacific have supported initiatives that promise more predictable slot availability and less circling in Manila’s crowded skies, even if the transition involves short-term adjustments for passengers unused to departing from alternative airports.
Indonesian authorities, meanwhile, have intensified engagements with airlines around on-time performance and safety, particularly in the wake of several high-profile delays and incidents. Investments in facilities at secondary hubs like Makassar are intended to relieve pressure on Jakarta, although it will take time for these upgrades to fully translate into smoother journeys for passengers.
What Travelers Can Expect Next
For passengers planning to travel through Singapore, Jakarta, Bali, Makassar, Manila or Cebu in the coming days and weeks, the latest disruption is a reminder that flexibility and preparation remain essential. With air traffic across Asia at or near record highs, and fleets still constrained by maintenance and supply chain challenges, sporadic clusters of delays and cancellations are likely to continue, particularly during peak travel periods and in the late afternoon and evening banks when cumulative delays tend to peak.
Travel agents and airline customer service teams recommend that passengers build in extra connection time when itineraries involve multiple regional legs, especially those routed through congested hubs. Booking slightly longer layovers, traveling earlier in the day where possible and monitoring flight status closely via airline apps or airport boards can all help reduce the risk of missed connections or overnight disruptions.
Travel insurance providers also report growing interest in policies that specifically cover missed connections, extended delays and additional accommodation costs. For families and business travelers alike, the added cost can offer peace of mind in a landscape where even well-resourced airlines and modern airports cannot fully guarantee punctuality.
Industry analysts note that the underlying drivers of the February 10 and 11 disruption wave will not disappear overnight. Strong demand, infrastructure constraints and fleet challenges will continue to test operational resilience in Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines throughout 2026. Yet, with record passenger numbers at Changi, robust growth in Philippine air traffic and Indonesia’s expanding domestic market, the incentives for governments and industry to tackle these bottlenecks have never been higher. For now, however, the hundreds of passengers who found themselves unexpectedly stuck in Jakarta, Bali, Manila, Changi, Makassar and Cebu are living proof that Asia’s aviation resurgence still comes with significant turbulence.