China has cancelled all scheduled flights on 49 air routes with Japan as Beijing reiterated travel warnings urging its citizens to avoid visiting the country, particularly during the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday in February.
Data released by Chinese travel platform Flight Master showed that cancellation rates for flights between mainland China and Japan climbed to 47.2 per cent in January, up 7.8 percentage points from December 2025. As of Monday (Jan 26), all flights on 49 scheduled routes for February had been cancelled.
Among the affected services were 113 flights between Beijing’s Daxing International Airport and Osaka’s Kansai International Airport, as well as 13 flights connecting Shenzhen’s Bao’an International Airport with Hokkaido’s New Chitose Airport. Several other routes linking major Chinese cities with Japanese destinations were also impacted.
Major Chinese carriers, including Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines, have extended flexible ticket change and refund policies for Japan-related travel until Oct 24. Previously, the free refund and rescheduling policy had applied only to travel up to Mar 28.
In a statement issued on Monday, Air China said tickets issued before Jan 26 for travel dates between Mar 29 and Oct 24 to and from Japan would now be eligible for free changes or refunds. The airline added that passengers could choose alternative dates or cancel their trips without penalty.
The airline policies were first introduced in November amid heightened diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Tokyo. Relations worsened following remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who said a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan and prompt a military response from Tokyo.
On Monday, China’s foreign ministry again urged citizens to reconsider travel to Japan. “Recently, public security in Japan has deteriorated, with frequent incidents of illegal and criminal acts targeting Chinese citizens,” the ministry’s Department of Consular Affairs said, warning of “serious security threats” to Chinese nationals. It also cited a series of earthquakes in parts of Japan that had caused injuries.
China has traditionally been Japan’s largest source of tourists. Official figures show nearly 7.5 million Chinese visitors travelled to Japan in the first nine months of 2025, accounting for about a quarter of all foreign arrivals. Attracted by a weak yen, Chinese tourists generated an estimated US$3.7 billion in the third quarter alone.
However, tourist arrivals from China have declined sharply. In December, the number of Chinese visitors fell about 45 per cent year-on-year to roughly 330,000, reflecting the impact of rising tensions and travel advisories.
