Travelers in Shanghai, Xining, Chengdu, Beijing and more Amid Travel Conundrum as Hainan Airlines Suspends Ten New Flights and Delays Multiple others across China

Published on December 8, 2025

A wave of flight disruptions sweeps across China today. This development casts a shadow over the operational stability of Hainan Airlines. Travelers now face considerable uncertainty due to numerous cancellations and delays. The carrier’s extensive network is feeling the pressure. Major travel hubs across the country are directly impacted. Passengers traveling through key cities must adjust their plans immediately. The disruption involves crucial routes connecting metropolitan centers. Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Guangzhou are all affected. These services link vital economic and cultural regions. Furthermore, travelers to Xining, Sanya, Chongqing, Nanchang and Taiyuan also experience the instability. According to recent data, there’s total of 10 cancellations and 56 delays reported. The travel plans of hundreds of people hang in the balance. This situation underscores the current complexities facing domestic air travel in China.

A Breakdown of the Affected Flights

The disruption to the flight schedule involved ten distinct services, utilizing both narrow-body and wide-body aircraft. The Boeing B738 was primarily featured in the affected schedule, but the wide-body B789 Dreamliner was also implicated on key city routes, suggesting that the operational challenges were not confined to a single fleet segment.

The reported irregularities were distributed across several critical domestic corridors in China. High-value routes connecting major centers were observably impacted. For instance, the critical link between Shanghai Pudong and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport was compromised, as was the route connecting the nation’s capital, Beijing Capital, with the popular tourist destination of Sanya. Furthermore, key internal services connecting Taiyuan, Nanchang, Chongqing, Guangzhou and Xining were also listed among the disrupted flights, underscoring the geographically widespread nature of the issue.

Delays

In addition to the 10 cancellations, 56 flights were registered as delayed. The 7% delay rate across the recorded operations indicates that the operational challenges were not mere isolated events but rather a substantial strain on the airline’s ability to manage its schedule integrity.

Affected Airports

The disruption was felt across nine major airports, covering a wide geographical area from the North to the South and East to the West of China. These facilities are vital hubs for both business and leisure travel. The major affected airports and their corresponding cities were:

• Beijing Capital Int’l (PEK)
• Shanghai Pudong Int’l (PVG)
• Chengdu Tianfu Int’l (TFU)
• Xining Caojiabu (XNN)
• Taiyuan Wusu Int’l (TYN)
• Nanchang Changbei Int’l (KHN)
• Chongqing Jiangbei Int’l (CKG)
• Guangzhou Baiyun Int’l (CAN)
• Sanya Phoenix Int’l (SYX)

Probable Impact on Local Tourism

Operational instability of a major carrier like Hainan Airlines might have a probable negative impact on local tourism in the affected cities. Delays and cancellations can directly lead to shortened itineraries, missed connections and unforeseen additional expenses for passengers, diverting their spending away from planned tourism activities. For cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Sanya, which rely heavily on consistent air connectivity for both inbound and domestic tourist flow, sustained operational unreliability poses a risk to future travel confidence. Specifically, the disruption of services linking economic hubs like Shanghai with inland centers and popular holiday destinations is of particular concern to the travel sector in China.

What Affected Passengers Can Do Now

Passengers whose travel plans have been compromised by the Hainan Airlines cancellations and extensive delays are strongly advised to seek current, confirmed information directly from the airline via its official channels. For flights that were canceled, travelers should be offered a full refund or re-routing on the next available service, either with Hainan Airlines or a partner carrier, as per established airline protocols in China. Communication with the airline is required to ascertain specific rights regarding accommodation or compensation that may be applicable under the relevant passenger protection regulations.

-The information provided is sourced from FlightAware.