News
Airlines from China suspend flights on 12 routes to Japan
November 27th 2025
Chinese airlines have canceled all flights on 12 routes to Japan, as Chinese citizens took up the offer of free ticket refunds amid heightened political tensions between the two countries, Yicai reports. Read More » Xiamen Air has cancelled all Hangzhou-Nagoya flights, while Hainan Airlines has suspended the Xi’an-Sapporo operations. In addition, Air China has reduced weekly flights on its Shanghai-Osaka route to 16 from 21, while China Eastern Airlines (CEA) cut six of 14 flights on its Beijing-Osaka route. The cancellation rate is especially high for flights to Kansai International Airport, which serves Osaka, as most Chinese headed there are tourists, an industry insider told Yicai, while those who travel to Tokyo do so mainly for business, making them less likely to change their plans. Some experts from Japan say the airlines from China are more hesitant to cancel flights to Tokyo, because they are concerned about losing the flying slots, which are in high demand at the city’s two airports. On Tuesday, November 25, Bloomberg reported the Chinese government has instructed the country’s airlines to reduce the number of flights to Japan through March 2026. Airlines were asked to make the changes “for now,” suggesting the situation could change in line with diplomatic developments, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the information is private.
