China cancels all flights on 49 routes to Japan

All scheduled flights on 49 air routes between China and Japan have been cancelled for February, flight data showed on Monday, as Chinese airlines extended special ticket change and refund policies for Japan-related travel.

Data from flight information platform Flight Master showed that as of Monday, 49 China-Japan routes had cancelled all flights scheduled for February, an increase from this month. In January, the cancellation rate for flights from Chinese mainland to Japan stood at 47.2 percent, up 7.8 percentage points from December.

China's three major domestic carriers – Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines –issued on Monday notices detailing special handling measures for tickets on Japan routes, citing a travel reminder issued by China's foreign ministry.?

Under the policies, passengers holding eligible tickets purchased or reissued before midday on Jan 26 can make one free change, subject to fare differences, or apply for fee-free refunds for unused segments. The measures cover Japan-related flights scheduled between March 29 and Oct 24, including services to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sapporo, and Okinawa.

The latest adjustments follow earlier steps taken by Chinese airlines to manage Japan-bound demand. In December last year, Air China, China Eastern and China Southern extended a previous Dec 31 deadline for ticket refunds and rebooking to March 28, marking the end of the winter-spring travel season.

Those extensions came after China issued travel advisories in mid-November discouraging trips to Japan after erroneous remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding China's Taiwan. Since then, Chinese airlines have recalibrated capacity on Japan routes, with reductions concentrated on leisure-oriented services.