Japan Airlines, Air Do, All Nippon Airways, Skymark, ANA Wings and Several other Japanese Carriers Face Major Travel Disruption as Tokyo, Sapporo, Osaka, Sendai, Hakodate and More Cancel 295 And Delay 763 Flights Affecting Thousands of Passengers across Japan, New Update

Published on December 15, 2025

Travelers across Japan faced massive disruption today. A significant number of flights were canceled and delayed at key airports, causing widespread chaos. National carriers like Japan Airlines, Air Do and All Nippon Airways bore the brunt of these operational challenges. Regional airlines, including Skymark and ANA Wings, were also heavily impacted. The disruptions concentrated at major hubs. Passengers at Haneda Airport in Tokyo and New Chitose Airport, which serves Sapporo, experienced the longest waits. Flight schedules were fractured nationwide. This cascading effect reached smaller cities. Airports in Osaka, Sendai and Hakodate reported significant trouble. Even regional gateways like those serving Ōzora, Kushiro and Obihiro saw their operations compromised.

In total, 295 flights were canceled. An astounding 763 flights were delayed. Thousands of travelers found their journeys halted or significantly extended. The immediate cause of this extensive system failure remains under investigation. However, the aviation industry faces an urgent task. They must now focus on swiftly restoring stability to the Japanese air travel network. The priority is getting affected passengers to their destinations.

Major Airports Affected

The epicenter of the disturbance was observed at two of the country’s main gateways, with New Chitose and Tokyo International (Haneda) recording the highest incidence of cancelled and delayed flights.

At Haneda Airport in Tokyo, 83 total cancellations were logged, but the primary concern was the massive scale of operational delays, with 433 flights being delayed. This figure, representing the highest number of delays reported nationwide, indicates severe congestion and flow control challenges at the capital’s main airport.

In Hokkaido, New Chitose Airport, which serves the greater Sapporo area, bore the largest cancellation total, with 133 flights cancelled. A further 145 flights were delayed, marking New Chitose as the most significantly impacted airport in terms of combined disruptions. The secondary airport serving Sapporo, Okadama (Sapporo Airfield), also reported 11 cancellations and 10 delays.

Further south, Osaka Itami Airport reported a relatively low number of cancellations, with only 8 flights stopped. However, flight delays were substantial, reaching a total of 107 operations, suggesting a ripple effect from the primary hubs.

Similarly, Sendai airport in the Tōhoku region recorded 15 cancellations and 40 delays.

Regional airports in Hokkaido also experienced significant strain. Hakodate reported 7 cancellations and 18 delays, while Memanbetsu saw 17 cancellations and 3 delays. Kushiro airport also noted 11 cancellations and 3 delays. Finally, Tokachi-Obihiro registered 10 cancellations and 4 delays. Across all these regional hubs in Japan, the pattern of high cancellations was clearly established.

Impacted Airlines

The disruptions were not isolated to a single operator; rather, a broad spectrum of major domestic and international carriers was involved. The data shows that the greatest number of flight stoppages were recorded by Air Do and the All Nippon Airways group.

Air Do experienced the highest number of cancellations at the affected airports, with 39 at New Chitose, 41 at Tokyo Haneda and regional cancellations of 6 at Sendai, 4 at Memanbetsu, 2 at Kushiro and 6 at Tokachi-Obihiro. A total of 44 delays were also logged for the carrier across New Chitose, Tokyo Haneda, Memanbetsu, Kushiro and Tokachi-Obihiro.

ANA Wings was impacted heavily across multiple airports, with 29 cancellations and 5 delays at New Chitose, 2 cancellations and 22 delays at Tokyo Haneda, 2 cancellations and 2 delays at Sendai, 2 cancellations and 2 delays at Hakodate, 6 cancellations at Memanbetsu and 3 cancellations at Kushiro.

All Nippon (ANA), the other major mainline carrier in Japan, recorded 17 cancellations and 11 delays at New Chitose, 15 cancellations and 119 delays at Tokyo Haneda and 3 cancellations and 16 delays at Osaka Itami.

Japan Airlines (JAL) and its affiliates registered the highest number of reported delays. At Tokyo alone, 191 delays were recorded, along with 16 cancellations. Further cancellations and delays were documented at New Chitose (22 cancellations, 38 delays), Osaka Itami (3 cancellations, 52 delays), Sendai (5 cancellations, 6 delays), Memanbetsu (5 cancellations, 0 delay), Kushiro (2 cancellations, 1 delay) and Tokachi-Obihiro (4 cancellations, 2 delays). Japan Air Commuter, an affiliate, reported 1 cancellation at Osaka Itami.

Skymark operations were also disrupted, logging 16 cancellations and 19 delays at New Chitose and 8 cancellations and 27 delays at Tokyo Haneda. Hokkaido Air System, operating regionally, recorded a total of 5 cancellations and 5 delays at Hakodate, 11 cancellations and 9 delays at Okadama (Sapporo Airfield), 2 cancellations at Memanbetsu and 4 cancellations at Kushiro.

The remaining affected carriers included Jetstar Japan (6 cancellations, 6 delays at New Chitose), Ibex (2 cancellations, 0 delay at New Chitose; 1 cancellation, 10 delays at Osaka Itami; 2 cancellations, 16 delays at Sendai), Fuji Dream (1 cancellation, 1 delay at New Chitose), Cathay Pacific (1 cancellation, 1 delay at New Chitose) and United Airlines (1 cancellation, 4 delays at Tokyo Haneda.

Probable Impact on Local Tourism

Given the substantial number of cancelled and delayed flights, particularly at critical regional hubs, a probable and immediate impact on local tourism markets must be considered. The high cancellation rates into and out of Sapporo (New Chitose and Okadama), Hakodate, Kushiro, Memanbetsu (the airport serving the Ōzora area) and Tokachi-Obihiro suggest that a significant volume of tourist traffic, essential to the local economies of northern Japan, was immediately halted.

For travelers to major metropolitan areas like Tokyo and Osaka, the greater challenge was observed in the high number of delays, which disrupt tightly scheduled itineraries and connecting journeys. This situation presents a logistical challenge for hotels, tour operators and local transportation services across all affected regions, from the northern island of Hokkaido to the central hubs of Japan. The inability of a large number of passengers to reach destinations like Sendai also compounds the nationwide disruption to tourism-related revenue.

What Affected Passengers Can Do Now

Passengers whose travel plans were compromised by these widespread disruptions are advised to undertake several immediate steps. First, the flight status must be confirmed directly through the operating carrier’s official channels. Since 295 flights were cancelled, it is paramount that alternative arrangements for onward travel be secured promptly. Passengers are encouraged to retain all documentation related to the original booking and any incurred expenses. Communication is key: the respective customer service departments of Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Air Do, Skymark and other affected carriers should be contacted for information regarding rebooking policies, compensation eligibility, or refund procedures. The recovery of the air network in Japan will require time and passengers should be prepared for potential follow-on delays as airlines work to reposition aircraft and crews following the cancellation of 295 flights.

-The information provided is sourced from FlightAware.