BEIJING – China has extended its directive for โits airlines โคto curtail flights to Japan through March 2026, โaccording to a report by โขBloomberg, signalingโค continued strain in bilateral relations.
The extension of the flight reductions, initially implemented due to political tensions stemmingโข fromโค recent comments by Japanese Prime Minister Takaichiโฃ Sanae regarding Taiwan, impacts travel for both Chinese and Japanese citizens and affects theโข revenue streams of numerous airlines. โขchinese carriers have been instructed to maintain schedule adaptability and โขalign operationsโค withโ the evolving state of diplomatic ties.
Airlines affected by theโ mandate include china Eastern Airlines, Air china, Spring Airlines, โฃChina Southern Airlines, Junyao Air, Shanghai Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, and Shandong Airlines, among others. Atโข least twelve routes have beenโ reportedlyโ suspended, encompassing destinations such as Sapporoโข Chitose, Osaka Kansai, niigata, Kobe, Nagoya Chubu, and Fukuoka.
Data from chโaviation indicates that China Easternโ Airlines โคcurrently holds theโ largest market share with 19.6% and โover 88,000 seats offered โขduring the week commencing November 24. Air China follows with 15.1%, and Spring Airlines with 12%.
chโaviation has contacted the airlines for statements regarding the extension of the flight reductions.