Overview
- On July 24, 2026, consumer protection bodies from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei held a joint meeting in Tianjin with 10 airlines and 5 online ticket platforms and ordered companies to complete self-inspection and rectification by August 31, 2026.
- The firms called to the meeting include major carriers such as Air China, China Southern, China Eastern, Spring Airlines and others, plus platforms like Ctrip, Qunar, Fliggy, Tongcheng and Meituan.
- Spring Airlines issued a public statement the same day saying it watched the meeting livestream, sent staff to report in person, accepted criticism, apologized to passengers and pledged to turn the consumer groups' four recommendations into concrete tasks.
- Consumer groups publicly criticized service gaps uncovered before the talks, including an unreachable Spring Airlines hotline and an unanswered consumer association letter, and they required prompt improvement in response channels.
- The joint action relied on the Consumer Rights Protection Law rules and signals coordinated oversight between local consumer groups and market regulators with ongoing supervision to track how companies improve ticketing notices, on-site handling, compensation details and complaint channels.