Tourists Stranded In China As Air China, China Eastern And China Southern Cancel Over 300 Flights In New Wave Of Disruptions At Beijing, Guangzhou And Shenzhen Airports: You Need To Know

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Stranded tourists throughout China are grappling with increasing inconvenience as an additional round of cancellations by Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern has caused more than 300 flights to beryllium affected at Beijing Capital, Guangzhou Baiyun, and Shenzhen Bao’an airports. The new wave of disruptions is being fueled by a combination of operational limitations, crew shortages, and inclement weather, with travelers having few rebooking opportunities and long waits at several of the nation’s busiest air transportation centers. With peak summer demand accelerating, airlines are running to maintain astronomical demand while ensuring schedule reliability. More than 338 flights were canceled and complete 2,023 delayed crossed China’s aerial web connected Tuesday, paralyzing activity crossed awesome hubs. China Southern Airlines led nan disruptions pinch 226 cancellations and 956 delays—accounting for 8% of its full flights canceled and 36% delayed. China Eastern Airlines followed pinch 59 cancellations and 675 delays, representing 2% and 25% of its operations respectively. Air China reported 53 cancellations and 392 delays, equaling 2% of its flights canceled and 20% delayed.

The ripple effects were profoundly felt astatine captious airports including Guangzhou Baiyun, Shenzhen Bao’an, Beijing Capital, Beijing Daxing, Shanghai Pudong, Hangzhou Xiaoshan, and Chengdu Shuangliu. Affected formation routes covered an extended web of some north-south and east-west corridors, specified arsenic Xuzhou to Guangzhou, Nanchong to Shenzhen, Shenzhen to Dali, Guangzhou to Shanghai Hongqiao, and Changde to Guangzhou. Additional disruption was reported crossed links from Lanzhou, Haikou, Nanning, and Huangyan to Guangzhou, and from Shenzhen to destinations for illustration Haikou, Kunming, Qingdao, Guiyang, Changzhou, and Chongqing. China Eastern’s grounded flights included awesome connections from Harbin, Qingdao, Hefei, and Nanjing to Guangzhou, arsenic good arsenic respective Shenzhen-originating flights bound for Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai. Other cardinal suspended routes linked Beijing Daxing, Xi’an, Ningbo, Wuxi, Hangzhou, and Kumamoto successful Japan. Air China cancellations likewise spanned from Beijing Capital to Guangzhou, Wenzhou, Nanjing, and Shanghai; Shenzhen to Chengdu and Hangzhou; and Chengdu to Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The sheer standard of suspended and delayed services crippled recreation plans for tens of thousands of passengers and severely impacted hose operations nationwide. Compounded by terrible upwind and craft rotation constraints, nan day’s turbulence made clear nan vulnerability of Chinese aviation during highest summertime traffic.

Guangzhou and Shenzhen Among nan Hardest Hit

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) emerged arsenic nan astir severely impacted hub successful China, base nan brunt of much than 226 formation cancellations (8%) and 956 delays (36%) operated by China Southern Airlines alone. Many of these disrupted routes were captious home corridors connecting Guangzhou pinch cardinal cities for illustration Shanghai, Chengdu, Changsha, Fuzhou, and Hangzhou. Meanwhile, Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport (SZX) besides saw important operational strain, pinch dozens of China Southern, China Eastern, and Air China flights canceled aliases delayed connected routes to Dali, Kunming, Haikou, Xishuangbanna, and Chongqing. The back-to-back disruptions astatine these 2 awesome hubs created important downstream chaos arsenic passengers scrambled for rebooking and nan airline’s unit struggled to incorporate nan fallout.

Widespread Cancellations Across Major Hubs

As disruptions grew, nan ripple effect quickly dispersed to different superior airports. Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) and Beijing Daxing (PKX) were some heavy affected, particularly connected China Eastern and Air China flights. China Eastern recorded 59 cancellations, representing 2% of its full flights, and 675 delays, accounting for 25%, while Air China knowledgeable 53 cancellations (2%) and 392 delays (20%). Routes betwixt Beijing and cardinal destinations specified arsenic Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Xi’an, and Shenzhen were among nan astir often impacted. Shanghai Pudong (PVG) and Hongqiao (SHA) were not spared either, pinch cancellations striking routes to and from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Nanjing. Chengdu Shuangliu (CTU), Xi’an Xianyang (XIY), and Hangzhou Xiaoshan (HGH) were besides entangled successful nan web of delays and groundings, further intensifying operational strain crossed China’s nationalist aviation grid..

Other Domestic Flights Affected

The situation wasn’t confined to nan Tier 1 hubs. A big of location and secondary airports reported mounting delays and cancellations. Flights were grounded astatine Nanchang Changbei (KHN), Changde Taohuayuan (CGD), Mianyang Nanjiao (MIG), Panzhihua Bao’anying (PZI), and Huangyan Luqiao (HYN), severely impacting section postulation and location connectivity. With constricted craft and unit astatine these smaller terminals, rebooking proved difficult. Routes for illustration Xuzhou to Guangzhou, Qingdao to Shenzhen, and Wenzhou to Guangzhou were peculiarly hit, while passengers walking from cities for illustration Zhuhai, Wuhan, and Nanjing were besides caught successful nan crossfire of surgery recreation chains.

The Scale of nan Cancellations

Altogether, nan 3 airlines—China Southern, China Eastern, and Air China—faced a mixed full of 338 cancellations and much than 2,000 delays wrong a azygous day, reflecting nan monolithic strain nan strategy was under. These figures not only bespeak earthy numbers but correspond an immense logistical challenge. Flights from Beijing to Shanghai, Guangzhou to Chengdu, and Shenzhen to Nanjing were particularly vulnerable, creating an unprecedented bottleneck crossed nan astir captious trunk routes successful nan country. With precocious summertime recreation demand, these disruptions spilled into consequent days, further destabilizing formation schedules and leaving craft and crews mispositioned crossed nan network.

Passenger Frustration Soars arsenic Delays Mount

At terminals crossed nan country, emotions ran high. Travelers shared real-time images and videos of overcrowded gates, group sprawled crossed airdrome floors, and lines stretching for hours astatine hose counters. With much than 2,000 full delays and increasing uncertainty, integer platforms for some China Southern and China Eastern buckled nether pressure, forcing passengers into already congested terminal queues. In Guangzhou and Shenzhen, unit struggled to reply thousands of inquiries, while astatine Beijing, passengers were forced to hold done hours of disorder pinch small to nary guidance.

The airlines issued wide advisories, encouraging customers to show formation position done apps and websites, but those efforts did small to offset nan vexation of families, business travelers, and world visitors who were already en way aliases mid-connection. The operation of mediocre communication, high-volume cancellations, and afloat booked rebooking options near galore without a viable measurement to proceed pinch their travel.

Operational Challenges and Scheduling Crises

While nary hose released an charismatic mentation for nan day’s disruption, manufacture observers pointed to a cleanable large wind of weather-related constraints, labour shortages, and overstretched summertime formation schedules. Analysts noted that pinch China Southern moving astir a 1000 delayed flights, nan knock-on effect crossed its tightly sequenced web was astir intolerable to contain. With astir craft and formation crews operating astatine maximum utilization, moreover insignificant disruptions—such arsenic location upwind cells—were capable to ripple crossed full schedules. Guangzhou and Shenzhen, arsenic operational epicenters, were ill-equipped to negociate this standard of disruption successful a compressed window.

Ongoing Summer Travel Volatility

The full mayhem wrong China’s skies is simply a grim reminder of nan precarious equilibrium successful home formation schedules successful nan precocious season. With much than 2,000 delayed flights and hundreds of cancellations occurring wrong a 24-hour window, nan standard of this illness is humbling for aerial passengers and hose operations crews alike. While monsoon activity peaks and thunderstorm risks bent complete cardinal and confederate provinces, further disruptions should beryllium expected successful nan days ahead. Passengers are advised to enactment alert, show formation position hourly, and supply other buffer for hold aliases last-minute cancellation—especially erstwhile flying via Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, aliases Shanghai.