Passengers across Japan and on key international routes faced another day of uncertainty as a cluster of weather related and operational flight cancellations rippled through major carriers including All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan Airlines (JAL), Air France, Delta Air Lines, Korean Air and several Asian and North American operators.

The disruptions, centered on Japanese airports but affecting travel to and from Tokyo, Incheon, Paris, Hong Kong, Toronto, Atlanta and other hubs, have stranded hundreds of travelers and complicated already tight winter schedules.

More News

Stormy Weather and Operational Strains Collide

The latest wave of cancellations has been driven primarily by severe winter conditions sweeping through northern Japan, coupled with ongoing aircraft availability issues at several airlines. Local aviation and travel outlets reported that poor visibility, high winds and heavy snowfall forced multiple carriers to trim their schedules at major and regional airports, with knock on effects spreading to long haul routes.

While the bulk of cancellations involve domestic and short haul flights, international services operated by ANA, JAL, Air France, Delta and Korean Air have also been impacted. Industry data and airline advisories show a growing pattern of carriers preemptively scrubbing selected departures rather than risking last minute operational chaos, a strategy that can reduce congestion on the ground but leaves travelers racing to rebook in an already busy season.

Analysts note that winter reliability has become a mounting concern in Northeast Asia, where dense schedules and heavily utilized fleets leave little slack when storms move in. Airline planners are juggling aircraft rotations across Japan, Korea, China and Europe, and a single cancellation in Sapporo or Sendai can cascade across a network that touches Tokyo, Incheon, Hong Kong, Paris, Toronto and US hubs such as Atlanta.

Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita Under Pressure

Tokyo’s twin airports, Haneda and Narita, once again found themselves at the center of the disruption. Both serve as critical nodes for ANA and JAL, and as major destinations for Air France, Delta and Korean Air, so even a modest schedule reduction can quickly translate into dozens of missed connections and stranded passengers.

At Haneda, Japan’s primary domestic hub and a key international gateway, passengers reported long queues at airline counters as early morning weather related curtailments tightened seat availability later in the day. With aircraft and crews arriving late or out of position, several Japan bound and onward flights to cities including Seoul’s Incheon, Paris, Hong Kong and North American gateways had to be canceled or consolidated.

Narita, which handles a higher proportion of long haul international traffic, saw fewer outright cancellations but more delays and equipment changes. Some carriers have opted to combine services, rebook passengers through partner hubs or reroute travelers through alternative Asian gateways. This has left many Tokyo bound tourists and business travelers arriving hours, and in some cases a full day, behind schedule, with missed tours, meetings and onward connections.

New Chitose and Northern Japan Bear the Brunt

New Chitose Airport near Sapporo in Hokkaido has been among the hardest hit facilities, as snow and wind repeatedly disrupted flight operations. Regional carriers and major airlines alike have been forced to cancel departures, creating a backlog of passengers hoping to connect southward to Tokyo or onward to international services operated by ANA, JAL, Air France, Delta and Korean Air.

Travel industry reports from Hokkaido describe scenes of crowded terminals, with families returning from ski holidays and domestic tourists attempting to reach Tokyo for international flights. With seats scarce and some services fully booked for days, many travelers have been compelled to extend hotel stays, switch to rail or bus, or abandon planned onward journeys to destinations such as Hong Kong, Toronto and Atlanta.

Smaller airports across northern and central Japan have also felt the strain. When regional flights are canceled, affected passengers often cannot be reaccommodated until the next day, especially when they are holding tickets that connect to limited frequency long haul services. That dynamic has amplified the sense of being stranded for travelers whose entire itineraries rely on a tight domestic connection into Tokyo.

Japan Airlines Still Managing Long Haul Capacity Constraints

Japan Airlines continues to grapple with the longer term effects of damage to one of its flagship Airbus A350 1000 aircraft at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport in mid December 2025. The incident, in which another airline’s aircraft made contact with the JAL jet while it was parked for maintenance, has taken the widebody out of service for an extended period.

In a series of operational notices issued through early January 2026, JAL confirmed that it would cancel or adjust a number of international flights into late January and beyond while the aircraft remains unavailable. The affected services include transpacific and transcontinental routes from Tokyo to New York, Dallas, Chicago, London, Paris and Beijing, among others, many of which are cornerstones of JAL’s long haul network.

Although these cancellations are scheduled and published in advance, the resulting reduction in spare capacity has left the airline with less flexibility when weather or operational issues emerge elsewhere in the network. As winter storms flare up across Japan, JAL has had to make tough choices about which flights to protect and which to cut, contributing to the sense of disruption felt by passengers on both sides of the Pacific and across Europe and Asia.

ANA, Air France, Delta and Korean Air Trim Schedules

ANA has quietly reduced or consolidated selected domestic and international services in recent days, focusing on routes that are heavily exposed to winter weather or that offer alternative frequencies. While many of these adjustments involve short haul domestic sectors, the knock on effect has been felt by passengers connecting onto ANA operated flights to cities such as Hong Kong, Seoul and North American and European hubs via Tokyo.

Air France, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air, all of which operate significant transcontinental services into Japan and the wider Northeast Asia region, have also adjusted schedules as conditions deteriorate. Isolated cancellations have been reported on services linking Japan with Paris, North America and Seoul, often tied to aircraft rotations that originate or terminate at weather affected airports.

For travelers bound to or from major hubs such as Paris Charles de Gaulle, Atlanta, Toronto and Incheon, this has meant a patchwork of last minute rebookings, overnight layovers and extended journey times. Alliance partnerships and joint ventures have allowed some passengers to be rerouted via partner carriers, but limited winter capacity and high load factors mean not everyone can be accommodated on the same day.

Chinese and Regional Carriers Reshape Japan Networks

Adding to the unsettled picture, several Chinese airlines have recently announced a broad scale retrenchment of routes to Japan for the Northern Winter 2025 26 season. Industry schedule data show that more than 50 routes between China and Japan operated by Chinese carriers have been canceled or will be wound down over the coming weeks, including services linking Beijing, Shanghai and a slew of secondary Chinese cities with Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo and other Japanese destinations.

This structural reduction in capacity has two key effects for passengers. First, it shrinks the pool of alternative routings available when weather or operational issues disrupt direct Japan services operated by other airlines. Second, it intensifies competition for remaining seats on routes that continue to operate, especially at peak travel times, making last minute rebooking during disruptions substantially more difficult and expensive.

Regional Japanese airlines have likewise been forced to fine tune their schedules for operational reasons. In late December, for example, AIRDO temporarily canceled a series of Tokyo Haneda to Sapporo flights after one of its aircraft was struck by lightning and pulled from service for maintenance. While those specific cancellations were time limited, they underscore how quickly a single unplanned event can tighten capacity in a market that feeds heavily into the country’s main international gateways.

Stranded Passengers Face Long Queues and Sparse Options

For passengers caught in the latest wave of cancellations across Japan, the immediate experience has been defined by long queues at service counters, delayed information and limited rebooking options. Social media posts and local reports describe travelers sleeping in terminals, waiting hours to speak to airline staff and scrambling to find hotel rooms near airports that are already operating at or near capacity.

Those with complex itineraries, such as multi city trips encompassing Tokyo, Incheon, Hong Kong and onward legs to Europe or North America, have been particularly vulnerable. When an initial domestic leg in Japan is scrubbed, subsequent international segments on partner carriers like Air France, Delta or Korean Air can become impossible to reach, leading to a domino effect of missed flights and unexpected overnight stays.

Travel agents and airline call centers report heavy call volumes as customers seek clarity on their options. While most carriers are offering fee free changes and refunds when cancellations are attributed to weather or operational issues on the airline side, the practical challenge remains finding suitable replacement flights when so many routes are running full or have been proactively reduced for the season.

Airlines Urge Passengers to Monitor Status and Build in Buffers

In light of the ongoing disruptions, airlines operating in and out of Japan are urging passengers to check flight status frequently on official channels and to allow extra time and flexibility in their travel plans. With winter conditions expected to persist, carriers warn that further short notice adjustments are possible, particularly on routes touching northern Japan and highly utilized long haul sectors from Tokyo to Europe and North America.

Travel experts recommend that passengers with essential connections building through Tokyo, Incheon or other major hubs consider adding longer layover buffers, even if it means a lengthier overall journey. For those planning complex multi stop itineraries across Asia and the Pacific, booking through a single airline or alliance where possible can help streamline rebooking when things go wrong, as staff have more tools to reaccommodate customers on alternative services.

As the current round of cancellations underscores, Japan’s airports remain exceptionally busy and interconnected nodes in the global aviation system. When winter weather and operational constraints converge, the effects are quickly felt not only within the country but across routes linking Tokyo and other Japanese cities to Seoul, Hong Kong, Paris, Toronto, Atlanta and beyond. For now, passengers are being advised to stay informed, stay flexible and prepare for the possibility that their journey may take longer than planned.