Chinese airlines canceled more than 900 flights to Japan in December — nearly triple the cancellations recorded just two days earlier, when the number was still around 270. Kansai International Airport, near Osaka, was the hardest hit, reflecting growing political tensions between the two countries.
China has issued a travel warning to Japan amid diplomatic coolness caused by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaishi’s comments on Taiwan. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that the Chinese government had instructed the country’s airlines to reduce flights to Japan.
There are 176 routes with regular services between the two countries, connecting 20 airports in Japan and 36 airports in China, excluding Hong Kong and Macau. Nikkei Asia analyzed the latest plans for December using data from consulting firm Cirium.
As of Thursday morning (27), Chinese companies have cut 904 flights – 16% of the initial total of 5,548 flights – on 72 routes, equivalent to about 156,000 seats. The jump is significant regarding the 268 flights canceled as of Tuesday (25).
Among the 13 affected Japanese airports, Kansai was the worst affected, with 626 flights cancelled, including 80 flights from Nanjing, 71 flights from Shanghai, and 58 flights from Beijing.
Narita, which serves Tokyo, and Chubu, near Nagoya, saw 68 flight cancellations each. New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido recorded 61 cases, while Naha Airport in Okinawa recorded 26 cases.
The impact on Haneda Airport, Tokyo’s other main airport, was minimal: only seven out of 989 arriving flights were cancelled.
“Haneda Airlines has stable demand, and there is strong competition for landing and take-off spots,” said Hajime Tozaki, a professor at JF Oberlin University. He added that companies “may be wary of cutting flights, because by reducing operations, they risk losing their places.”
Among the companies, state-owned China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines canceled 118 and 109 flights respectively. The reductions were largest among Shanghai’s medium-sized airlines: Spring Airlines canceled 182 flights and Juneyao Airlines, 166.
Ticket prices were also affected. According to Airplus, operator of budget travel site ena, the cost of a round-trip ticket between Kansai and Shanghai has fallen from about 20,000 yen ($130) last year to about 8,500 yen this year.
It is not yet clear how the situation will develop.
“Chinese airlines have informed us that they want to reduce flights, especially from December onwards,” Naoki Fuji, President of Narita International Airport Corporation, said at a press conference on Thursday (27).
Fujii said between 10% and 20% of about 300 weekly flights between Narita and mainland Chinese airports could be cancelled.
There are also concerns about the impact on Chinese tourism, which has been recovering. About 8.2 million Chinese tourists visited Japan from January to October, up about 40% year-on-year, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.
“It will be necessary to closely monitor the upcoming developments and see what the Chinese government’s next move is,” said Keiji Kanda, chief economist at Daiwa Research Institute.