Airline News
Mainland delays increase, Cathay Pacific cancels flights
August 10th 2015
Chinese airports and airlines were the worst in the world for on time performance last year, according to FlightStats. Among the world's 61 largest airports, the seven worst performers for on-time departures were all airports in Mainland China, with Hangzhou's Xiaoshan, Shanghai's Hongqiao and Shanghai's Pudong taking the bottom three spots, with approximately 37% of flights leaving on time. In 2014, FlightStats said there were 92,839 delays by Mainland carriers, compared with 32,428 delays by carriers in the rest of the Asia-Pacific. Read More »
The increasing flight delays on the Mainland have led to some high-calibre air rage incidents in recent years, including passengers opening emergency exit doors “for air” and flight attendants being subjected to verbal and physical abuse from frustrated passengers. When there was a six-hour delay by a Hong Kong Airlines flight from Hong Kong to Beijing in late July, attributed to congested Mainland airspace, police were prompted to prosecute six Mainlanders in connection with a brawl during the long wait. Last week, a China Southern Airlines B787, en route from Guangzhou to Heathrow, ran out of fuel and had to divert to Amsterdam. It had used up too much fuel making a detour around Chinese military operations.
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways has started feeling the pinch, with the carrier’s chief executive, Ivan Chu, saying the carrier is “reassessing” its schedules to the Mainland following 230 flight disruptions in May and June caused by airspace restrictions. In a July company newsletter, Chu acknowledged delays had been "more severe of late," and added the knock-on effects "across the [airline] have been considerable". Scheduled flights often wait as long as eight hours before being cleared for take-off.
"Such a situation is not sustainable in the long term, especially for our colleagues who deal with this on a day-to-day basis, so we are now in the process of reassessing our schedules to Shanghai, particularly for Dragonair, which will take some of the strain off the operation," said Chu.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has slapped unprecedented penalties on Shenzhen Baoan International Airport for its mishandling of large-scale flight delays in previous months that triggered several incidents with "significant social impact". The penalties included bans on all new flights, routes and charters from the airport - the mainland's fifth busiest hub - until the end of the year.
