Around 500,000 air tickets to Japan have been cancelled by Chinese travellers within days, an aviation analyst told AFP, following a sharp escalation in diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Tokyo.
Bilateral friction intensified after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Japan could intervene militarily if Taiwan — which Beijing claims as part of its territory — were to come under attack.
As tensions rose, China issued a travel advisory late Friday urging its citizens to avoid visiting Japan for the foreseeable future.
Independent aviation analyst Li Hanming, who has tracked daily data on Chinese travellers’ “active flight bookings” from major airlines and online travel agencies since 2023, said bookings to Japan plunged from about 1.5 million on Nov 15 to just one million two days later — indicating around 500,000 cancellations.
He noted that active bookings normally decline by about 5% day-to-day, but the 33% drop recorded during this period was a dramatic anomaly. “There will definitely be more cancellations if tensions intensify,” he said.
Several major Chinese airlines have begun offering full refunds for Japan-bound flights booked until Dec 31.
Chinese travel agencies contacted by AFP showed mixed reactions. One major state-owned agency removed all Japan packages from its app, another said it had stopped accepting bookings, while some operators maintained normal Japan tour operations, expressing hope that the disruption would be temporary.
