Asia Travel Disrupted As Bangkok, Beijing, And 19 Major Airports Face 223 Cancellations And 2,161 Delays

Flight cancellations persisted across Asia today, with Thailand, China, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia recording 2,161 delays and 223 cancellations. Bangkok, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi’an, Delhi, Abha, Riyadh, Jeddah, Kunming, Dubai, Wuhan, Jakarta, Haikou, Chongqing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Mumbai and Beijing were among the cities facing disruptions.
Among airlines, China Eastern recorded the highest number of delays at 279 and also had the highest number of cancellations at 54. China Southern Airlines followed with 183 delays, while Saudia recorded 100 delays. Shenzhen Airlines registered 91 delays, while Flynas and IndiGo each recorded 80 delays. For cancellations, Air China and Saudia each recorded 27, followed by SpiceJet with 18, Batik Air with 17 and Air India with 10.

Airports Recording the Largest Number of Schedule Changes

Guangzhou Baiyun

Guangzhou Baiyun recorded 208 delays and eight cancellations. China Southern Airlines accounted for 77 delays, while China Eastern recorded 43 and Shenzhen Airlines reported 22. For flights originating at Guangzhou Baiyun, the delay rate was 10%, while flights arriving at the airport recorded a 15% delay rate.

Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta

Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta recorded 201 delays and 29 cancellations, the highest across Asia. Batik Air registered 44 delays and 17 cancellations, while Garuda Indonesia recorded 26 delays and 10 cancellations. Flights originating at Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta had a 3% cancellation rate and a 15% delay rate, while arriving flights had a 1% cancellation rate and a 17% delay rate.

King Abdulaziz

King Abdulaziz in Jeddah recorded 171 delays and 14 cancellations. Saudia accounted for 62 delays and nine cancellations, while Flynas reported 37 delays. Flights originating at King Abdulaziz had a 1% cancellation rate and a 21% delay rate, while arriving flights also recorded a 1% cancellation rate and a 21% delay rate.

Shenzhen Bao’an

Shenzhen Bao’an recorded 172 delays and six cancellations. Shenzhen Airlines registered 61 delays, while China Southern Airlines recorded 35. Three cancellations were recorded for Mahan Air, two for Shenzhen Airlines, and one for China Eastern. Flights originating at Shenzhen Bao’an had a 13% delay rate, while arriving flights recorded a 16% delay rate.

Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi in Delhi recorded 155 delays and 14 cancellations. IndiGo accounted for 56 delays, while SpiceJet recorded 20 delays and nine cancellations. Flights originating at Indira Gandhi had an 11% delay rate, while arriving flights had a 1% cancellation rate and an 11% delay rate.

Dubai

Dubai recorded 128 delays and 12 cancellations. Emirates recorded 34 delays, while FlyDubai had 44 delays. SpiceJet recorded seven cancellations. Flights originating at Dubai had a 1% cancellation rate and an 11% delay rate, while arriving flights recorded a 13% delay rate.

Suvarnabhumi Bangkok

Suvarnabhumi Bangkok recorded 113 delays and five cancellations. Thai Vietjet Air accounted for 24 delays and all five cancellations, while Thai Airways recorded 25 delays. Flights originating at Suvarnabhumi Bangkok had a 12% delay rate. The available figures also show arriving flights with a 11% delay rate.

King Khalid

King Khalid in Riyadh recorded 94 delays and 12 cancellations. Flynas had 35 delays, while Saudia recorded 30 delays and 10 cancellations. Flights originating at King Khalid had a 1% cancellation rate and a 10% delay rate, while arriving flights had a 1% cancellation rate and a 13% delay rate.

Beijing Daxing

Beijing Daxing recorded 108 delays and eight cancellations. China Southern Airlines accounted for 34 delays, while China Eastern recorded 27. Flights originating at Beijing Daxing had an 8% delay rate, while arriving flights recorded a 12% delay rate.

Airlines Seeing the Highest Delay and Cancellation Totals

China Eastern

China Eastern recorded 279 delays across multiple airports, making it the airline with the highest delay total. It also recorded 54 cancellations, with notable cancellation figures at Kunming Changshui and Wuhan Tianhe.

China Southern Airlines

China Southern Airlines recorded 183 delays. Its largest totals came at Guangzhou Baiyun, where it recorded 77 delays, followed by Shenzhen Bao’an with 35 and Beijing Daxing with 34.

Saudia

Saudia recorded 100 delays and 27 cancellations. Its figures included 62 delays at King Abdulaziz, 30 at King Khalid, and eight at Abha Regional.

Shenzhen Airlines

Shenzhen Airlines recorded 91 delays, led by 61 at Shenzhen Bao’an, 22 at Guangzhou Baiyun and eight at Xi’an Xianyang.

Flynas

Flynas recorded 80 delays across Abha Regional, King Khalid, King Abdulaziz and Dubai. Its largest individual totals were 37 delays at King Abdulaziz and 35 at King Khalid.

IndiGo

IndiGo also recorded 80 delays, with 56 at Indira Gandhi and 24 at Chatrapati Shivaji.

Steps Passengers Can Take When a Flight Is Cancelled

• Check the airline’s website or app for the latest flight status and rebooking options.
• Contact the airline promptly to ask about an alternative flight.
• Keep boarding passes, booking confirmations and receipts for any eligible expenses.
• Check the departure airport’s official updates before travelling to the airport.
• Allow additional time for check-in, security and possible schedule changes.
• Ask the airline about applicable refund, rebooking or assistance policies.

Common Operational Factors Behind Flight Cancellations

Flight cancellations across Asia can occur for several routine operational reasons. These may include aircraft availability, crew scheduling, maintenance requirements, air traffic restrictions, airport capacity constraints and weather conditions.

Schedule adjustments can also occur when an earlier flight is delayed and the aircraft or crew assigned to later services cannot operate according to the original timetable. Airline network connections may therefore lead to changes across multiple flights during the same operating day.

What Today’s Asia Flight Picture Shows

The Asia flight picture shows that disruptions are spread across several major aviation markets, with China accounting for many of the airports with high delay totals. Guangzhou Baiyun, Shenzhen Bao’an, Beijing Daxing, Xi’an Xianyang, Hangzhou Xiaoshan and Nanjing Lukou all recorded notable schedule changes.

India also saw sizeable disruption at Indira Gandhi and Chatrapati Shivaji, while Saudi Arabia recorded substantial activity at King Abdulaziz, King Khalid and Abha Regional. Dubai was another major hub with 128 delays and 12 cancellations.

Among the leading airlines, China Eastern appeared repeatedly across Chinese airports, while China Southern Airlines, Air China, Shenzhen Airlines, Hainan Airlines and Sichuan Airlines also recorded flight changes at several locations. In India, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India contributed to the day’s totals, while Saudia and Flynas recorded changes across Saudi airports.

The overall figures indicate that passengers travelling through major Asia hubs today may encounter altered departure schedules, delays or cancellations, making regular flight-status checks particularly important.

The data has been extensively curated by our editorial team using real-time aviation figures recorded on 16 September 2026 at 1:28 pm ET USA (10:58 pm GMT)

Primary Source: FlightAware.

Verification Protocol: All statistics have been independently reviewed and cross-checked by our human editorial desk. Timestamped records, data logs and feed snapshots are securely archived internally to support historical accuracy and editorial transparency.

Note: Real-time flight-tracking figures reflect active airspace and operational data. Minor variations may occur when compared with information displayed at individual airport terminals or airline departure gates.

Travelers are advised to check directly with their respective airlines and airports for the latest flight status, schedule changes and operational updates.  

Verified by Somudranil Sarkar