Flights Cancelled Across Asia As 801 Cancellations And 7,103 Delays Disrupted Travel Throughout The Continent: What You Need To Know

Written By: Ryan Rashid

Ryan Rashid

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July 27, 2026 2:51 AM

Image generated with Ai

Asia’s aviation network remains under pressure as airlines continue recovering from the widespread disruption triggered by Typhoon Noul, with 7,103 flight delays and 801 cancellations still affecting China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
While the storm itself has weakened since making landfall in Guangdong Province, its operational impact continues to spread across the region. Aircraft rotations remain disrupted, crews are still being repositioned, and airlines are working through schedule backlogs created during the height of the typhoon. Southern China remains the center of the disruption, but major hubs including Tokyo Haneda, Hong Kong International, Beijing Daxing, Guangzhou Baiyun, Shanghai Pudong, Shenzhen Bao’an, Xi’an Xianyang, Dubai International, and Hamad International continue operating under significant pressure. China Eastern, China Southern Airlines, Japan Airlines, Air China, XiamenAir, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Saudia, and Qatar Airways remain among the carriers facing the greatest operational challenges as recovery efforts continue.

What Has Changed Today?

The overall picture shows that airlines are beginning to regain control of their networks, although recovery remains uneven across the region.

The worst phase of Typhoon Noul has passed, but airlines are now dealing with the much slower task of restoring normal aircraft rotations and schedules.

Today’s disruption is also more concentrated geographically. Mainland China continues accounting for the majority of operational issues with 4,106 delays and 492 cancellations, while Japan has emerged as the second-largest area of disruption with 1,296 delays and 45 cancellations. Hong Kong remains under pressure with 433 delays and 46 cancellations, even as weather conditions gradually improve.

Outside East Asia, recovery has become increasingly operational rather than weather-driven. The United Arab Emirates recorded 369 delays and 22 cancellations, while Saudi Arabia continued facing a high number of cancellations despite comparatively fewer delays, suggesting local operational factors rather than widespread weather are driving disruption there.

How Typhoon Noul Continues To Affect Aviation

Although Typhoon Noul has moved inland after making landfall in Huidong County in Guangdong Province, airlines are still dealing with the consequences of one of southern China’s most disruptive weather events of recent weeks.

The storm brought powerful winds and torrential rain across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and southeastern Fujian, prompting the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents while reducing airport operating capacity through poor visibility and severe crosswinds.

Those immediate weather impacts have evolved into network-wide operational challenges. Aircraft stranded during the storm continue arriving late at destinations throughout Asia, delaying subsequent departures and forcing airlines to repeatedly adjust schedules.

The recovery remains particularly evident across Guangzhou Baiyun (398 delays, 134 cancellations), Shenzhen Bao’an (391 delays, 123 cancellations), Hong Kong International (433 delays, 46 cancellations), Shanghai Pudong (395 delays, 15 cancellations), Shanghai Hongqiao (214 delays, 27 cancellations), Hangzhou Xiaoshan (255 delays, 11 cancellations), Fuzhou Changle (74 delays, 11 cancellations) and Xiamen Gaoqi (200 delays, 10 cancellations), where airlines continue rebuilding normal operations despite improving weather.

Because these airports serve as major connecting hubs, disruption continues spreading well beyond the storm’s original path.

Where Flight Operations Remain Under The Greatest Pressure

Southern China

Southern China continues carrying the largest share of the disruption. Guangzhou Baiyun, Shenzhen Bao’an, Hong Kong International, Huizhou Pingtan, and Xiamen Gaoqi remain under sustained operational pressure as airlines recover from the direct effects of Typhoon Noul. China Southern Airlines, China Eastern, Air China, Shenzhen Airlines, and XiamenAir continue operating heavily revised schedules while clearing aircraft backlogs.

Eastern And Central China

The pressure has shifted from weather to congestion across eastern China. Airports including Shanghai Pudong, Shanghai Hongqiao, Hangzhou Xiaoshan, Nanjing Lukou, Beijing Daxing, Beijing Capital, Xi’an Xianyang, Chongqing Jiangbei, Chengdu Tianfu, and Chengdu Shuangliu continue handling delayed inbound aircraft as carriers work to restore normal fleet utilization. Cancellations are becoming less common than rolling delays, reflecting airlines’ preference to keep flights operating wherever possible.

Japan

Japan now represents the largest recovery zone outside China. Tokyo Haneda led the region with 635 delays and 20 cancellations, followed by Fukuoka (186 delays), New Chitose (154 delays), Narita (132 delays), Osaka Itami (113 delays), and Kansai (76 delays). Most disruption now stems from delayed aircraft arriving from elsewhere in Asia rather than local weather.

Southeast Asia

Operational effects continue reaching beyond China. Singapore Changi handled 208 delays and three cancellations, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi managed 197 delays and seven cancellations, while Taiwan Taoyuan recorded 128 delays and five cancellations as delayed aircraft and revised airline schedules continued affecting regional connectivity.

Middle East

The Gulf continues facing its own operational pressures alongside Asia’s recovery. Dubai International recorded 283 delays and 12 cancellations, while Hamad International handled 141 delays and seven cancellations. Saudi Arabia remained the region’s most disrupted market, with King Abdulaziz International (100 delays, 50 cancellations), King Khalid International (123 delays, 46 cancellations), Abha Regional (48 cancellations), and Gizan Regional (30 cancellations) continuing to experience significant operational disruption influenced by regional security conditions and airline scheduling challenges.

Which Airlines Continue Facing The Biggest Challenges

China Eastern remains the most delayed airline in today’s disruption with 831 delayed flights, reflecting its extensive operations across Shanghai, Beijing Daxing, Xi’an, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, and several other mainland hubs. Most of its challenge now centers on recovering schedule reliability rather than widespread cancellations.

China Southern Airlines continues operating under the greatest overall operational strain, accumulating 619 delays and 232 cancellations as its extensive Guangdong network remains closest to the areas hardest hit by Typhoon Noul.

Japan Airlines recorded 380 delays, largely concentrated at Tokyo Haneda, Fukuoka, Osaka Itami, and New Chitose, highlighting how aircraft arriving behind schedule continue affecting domestic operations across Japan.

Air China accumulated 366 delays and 94 cancellations, particularly across Beijing Capital, Beijing Daxing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and western China, where aircraft rotations remain disrupted.

XiamenAir continues facing operational pressure along China’s southeastern coastline with 256 delays, reflecting ongoing recovery at airports closely connected to the typhoon’s path.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) handled 254 delays, with operations at Tokyo Haneda, Kansai, Fukuoka, Narita, and New Chitose continuing to absorb delays spreading through the regional network.

Outside East Asia, Saudia remained heavily affected with 122 cancellations, particularly across Saudi domestic airports, while Qatar Airways continued managing significant delays at Hamad International as long-haul operations gradually returned to normal.

What Today’s Numbers Tell Us

Today’s disruption reflects an aviation system transitioning from weather emergency to operational recovery.

Although overall delays and cancellations have fallen substantially compared with yesterday, airlines are still spending much of the day repositioning aircraft, restoring crew schedules, and rebuilding network reliability. Southern China remains the region requiring the greatest recovery effort, while Japan demonstrates how major international hubs can continue experiencing widespread delays long after severe weather has moved elsewhere.

The Gulf tells a different story. Rather than weather-driven disruption, airlines there continue balancing operational recovery with regional airspace constraints, producing a different mix of delays and cancellations than those seen across East Asia.

Taken together, today’s figures suggest recovery is underway, but the aviation network has not yet returned to normal.

What Travelers Should Know Today

Passengers travelling through Guangzhou Baiyun, Shenzhen Bao’an, Hong Kong International, Shanghai Pudong, Tokyo Haneda, Beijing Daxing, Dubai International, Hamad International, King Abdulaziz International, and King Khalid International should continue expecting late-arriving aircraft, revised departure times, gate changes, and occasional last-minute schedule adjustments.

Many flights are operating despite arriving behind schedule, meaning delays may continue cascading throughout the day as aircraft complete multiple sectors before returning to normal rotations. Travelers making onward connections through China’s major hubs, Japan, Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai, and Doha may encounter tighter transfer windows as airlines continue restoring normal operations.

What Happens Next?

The next phase of recovery will depend less on the weather itself and more on how quickly airlines can eliminate the operational backlog created by Typhoon Noul. Restoring aircraft rotations, repositioning flight crews, and recovering schedule reliability across interconnected hub airports remain the industry’s immediate priorities.

If operations continue stabilizing across Guangdong and Hong Kong, delays should gradually ease across the wider Asian network. However, major hubs remain tightly connected, and even isolated disruptions can continue affecting flights hundreds or thousands of miles away.

For now, the numbers indicate that Asia’s aviation system is moving steadily away from the peak of the crisis, but the recovery remains incomplete. With airlines still rebuilding schedules across multiple countries, another day of operational adjustments remains likely before networks fully return to normal.

Data Verification Notice

The Data is extensively curated by me with figures derived from Flightaware dated 27th July 2:15 am IST

Primary Source: Real-time data aggregated via FlightAware.

Verification Protocol: Statistics are cross-checked by our human editorial desk. Timestamped logs and feed snapshots are securely archived internally to maintain historical accuracy.

Note: Real-time tracking figures represent active airspace data and may experience minor variances from local airport terminal gates. 

Travelers are advised to check respective airline and airports for more latest information and updates