Overview
- Industry tracker Flight Master reports 12 major China–Japan routes have dropped all scheduled services for the coming week, with cancellations projected to peak on December 27 at 21.6%.
- Data from Chinese platform DAST, cited by Yicai and The Paper, shows 41 flights spiked across those 12 routes, with cancellations concentrated on Osaka/Kansai links.
- Air China, China Eastern and China Southern canceled many of the affected services, and an analyst pegged the current cancellation rate near 15%.
- Independent analyst Li Hanming said most scrapped flights target Osaka and warned the wave could persist into March, affecting both legs of round trips.
- Major Chinese travel agencies paused Japan tours and visa services from November 16, removed Japan products, issued mass refunds, and one report counted more than 490,000 tickets canceled, with Japanese businesses noting mounting booking losses.