Chinese airlines asked to extend flight cuts to Japan until Mar. 2026

The Chinese government has asked the country's airlines to extend the reduction of flights to Japan through to March 2026.

The instruction from Beijing is the latest in a series of moves by the Chinese government to penalise Japan for its leader's comments about Taiwan.

S$1.2 billion loss in tourist spending

According to Bloomberg, airlines were asked to make changes "for now", which suggests that the situation could evolve along with diplomatic developments.

Airlines have been given the discretion to decide which flights and how many to cut.

As of Nov. 24, 12 routes from Chinese cities to Japan have already been cancelled due to low ridership, Global Times reported.

Cancellation rates for scheduled flights are expected to reach 21.6 per cent by Nov. 27, which is the highest level in the past month.

Analysts expect more than 50 per cent of routes to be cancelled through the end of the year, Bloomberg wrote.

At least 12 routes from Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Nanjing to destinations like Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo have been axed.

Japan is estimated to lose as much as S$1.2 billion in visitor spending between now and the end of the year due to Chinese tourist cancellations, Bloomberg reported.

Background

On Nov. 7 in parliament, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that the country could get involved militarily should a conflict break out between China and Taiwan, drawing China's ire.

In response, China issued a travel advisory on Nov. 14 to its citizens, discouraging them from travelling to Japan.

Following the advisory, Chinese airlines reported 491,000 ticket cancellations for flights to Japan.

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