Flight disruption

My China flight was delayed or cancelled

In short

My flight in China was cancelled. What does the airline owe me?

It depends on the cause. Where the airline caused it — maintenance, crew, its own scheduling — it has to provide food and accommodation. Where weather, air traffic control or security caused it, it only helps you arrange them and you pay. Rebooking forced by the carrier carries no change fee, an involuntary refund carries no fee at all, and the money is due within seven working days.

Plan the transfer instead

Applies to

Passengers on domestic flights inside mainland China, and on foreign-carrier flights that start or stop over there. Cargo and mail flights are outside these rules.

Check before you rely on it

Every rule on this page was read off the Civil Aviation Administration of China's own English texts on July 25, 2026. Those texts are published as translations for reference; where they diverge from the Chinese, the Chinese version governs. No CAAC instrument sets a cash compensation figure for a delay — see what we could not confirm, below.

Review date: 2026-07-25

The single question that decides your night is what the airline says the cause was. Find that out before you join the queue, because every duty below splits on it.

Back to transport Open support

CAAC flight regularity rules · read July 25, 2026

Who pays for the hotel when a China flight is cancelled?

One table, four rows, and it is the regulator's own split. Find your row before you ask for anything at the desk.

Cause of the disruption, and what the carrier then has to do
What caused it	Food and a bed	Who pays	Rule
Delay or cancellation at the origin caused by the carrier: aircraft maintenance, flight deployment or adjustment, crew	Carrier provides food and accommodation	The carrier	Article 29(1)
Delay or cancellation at the origin caused by weather, an emergency, air traffic control, security or passengers	Carrier assists you in arranging food and accommodation	You. The regulation says all costs are borne by passengers	Article 29(2)
Delay or cancellation at a stopover on a domestic flight	Carrier provides food and accommodation	The carrier, regardless of the reason	Article 29(3)
Your flight is diverted to another airport	Domestic carrier provides food and accommodation	The carrier, regardless of the reason	Article 29(4)

The carrier also has to announce the delay or cancellation, and its reason, within 30 minutes of confirming it, through its public platform, website, call centre, messages, phone calls or broadcast.

Articles 26 and 29, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China / Ministry of Transport — Provisions on the Administration of Flight Regularity (source dated 2016-05-20; read July 25, 2026)

At the desk

What do I do first when the board says cancelled?

1.Find out the stated cause before you queue. The regulation splits every duty by cause, and the carrier has to announce the reason within 30 minutes of confirming the delay or cancellation.
2.Ask the desk for written proof of the delay or cancellation. The carrier has to provide it on request, and it is the document your insurer and any later complaint will need.
3.If the cause is the carrier's — maintenance, crew, its own scheduling — ask for meals and accommodation. That is the carrier's cost, not yours.
4.If the cause is weather, air traffic control, security or another passenger, expect the carrier to help you arrange a hotel and expect to pay for it yourself.
5.Ask to be rebooked before you ask for money back. A change forced by the carrier carries no change fee, and the carrier can put you on another airline with that airline's consent.
6.If you want out instead, ask for an involuntary refund. There is no refund fee on it and the carrier has 7 working days to process it, not counting your bank's own settlement time.
7.If you were bumped from an oversold flight, ask for the statement of facts to the denied boarding and for the compensation the carrier publishes in its own conditions of carriage.
8.If the desk says no, take it to the airline's complaints channel first, then to the CAAC Consumer Affairs Center on 12326 or at www.12326.cn. You have 6 months from the day it happened.

Still on the aircraft

We have been sitting on the plane for hours. When do they let us off?

These are the only hour thresholds in the opened text. Everything else splits by cause, not by clock.

An update every 30 minutes
During a tarmac delay the carrier has to tell passengers the reasons, the estimated delay period and other flight information every 30 minutes.
Article 33, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China / Ministry of Transport — Provisions on the Administration of Flight Regularity (source dated 2016-05-20; read July 25, 2026)
Food and water at 2 hours
The carrier has to keep lavatory facilities available, and once a tarmac delay reaches 2 hours it has to provide food and water.
Article 34, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China / Ministry of Transport — Provisions on the Administration of Flight Regularity (source dated 2016-05-20; read July 25, 2026)
Off the aircraft at 3 hours
If a tarmac delay reaches 3 hours and there is no definite take-off time, the carrier has to arrange disembarkation, as long as safety and security rules allow it.
Article 35, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China / Ministry of Transport — Provisions on the Administration of Flight Regularity (source dated 2016-05-20; read July 25, 2026)
A tarmac delay has a definition
It is passengers waiting on board — after the cabin door closes before departure, or before it opens after arrival — for longer than the taxiing time limits the airport sets. A departure delay itself starts at 15 minutes past the scheduled time.
Article 3, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China / Ministry of Transport — Provisions on the Administration of Flight Regularity (source dated 2016-05-20; read July 25, 2026)

Money

Can I get a refund if my China flight is cancelled?

Rebooking and refunds are governed by a separate CAAC regulation from the one that governs meals and hotels. These are its words.

A forced change costs nothing

Where the reason is attributable to the carrier, it has to reissue the ticket if a seat is available on the alternate flight, or endorse you to another carrier with that carrier's consent, without charging a change fee.

Article 24, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China — Regulation on the Management of Public Air Transportation Services for Passengers (source dated 2021-04-21; read July 25, 2026)

An involuntary refund carries no fee

In the case of an involuntary refund, neither the carrier nor its ticket sales agent may charge any fee for the refund. That is the whole article.

Article 25, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China — Regulation on the Management of Public Air Transportation Services for Passengers (source dated 2021-04-21; read July 25, 2026)

Seven working days for the money

The carrier or its ticket sales agent has to complete the refund within 7 working days of receiving a valid refund request. Your bank's own processing time is not counted inside that window.

Article 26, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China — Regulation on the Management of Public Air Transportation Services for Passengers (source dated 2021-04-21; read July 25, 2026)

A missed connection is the carrier's problem to solve

On a connecting flight, if a change to one or more segments means you cannot finish the journey in the agreed time, the contracting carrier has to help you reach the final destination or the stopover airport.

Article 27, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China — Regulation on the Management of Public Air Transportation Services for Passengers (source dated 2021-04-21; read July 25, 2026)

Missing the flight because of the airline is treated as involuntary

Where you miss a flight, board the wrong flight, or fail to board for reasons attributable to the carrier, the change and the refund are handled under the involuntary rules. Where it is not the carrier's fault, ordinary ticket conditions apply.

Article 34, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China — Regulation on the Management of Public Air Transportation Services for Passengers (source dated 2021-04-21; read July 25, 2026)

Written proof, on request

The carrier has to promptly provide written proof of a flight delay or cancellation if a passenger asks for it. Ask at the desk while you are still in the airport.

Article 27, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China / Ministry of Transport — Provisions on the Administration of Flight Regularity (source dated 2016-05-20; read July 25, 2026)

Oversales

I was bumped off an oversold flight. What now?

Chinese law sets the process for denied boarding but leaves the amount to each carrier. Both halves matter at the desk.

Volunteers first, always

When an oversold flight has more passengers than seats, the carrier has to look for volunteers first. It may not use its boarding priority rules to decide who is denied boarding until the search for volunteers has failed.

Articles 44 and 46, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China — Regulation on the Management of Public Air Transportation Services for Passengers (source dated 2021-04-21; read July 25, 2026)

Boarding priority has to consider who you are

The carrier's boarding priority rules have to take account of senior, young, sick, disabled and pregnant passengers, and of passengers' connecting flights.

Article 46, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China — Regulation on the Management of Public Air Transportation Services for Passengers (source dated 2021-04-21; read July 25, 2026)

The compensation figure lives in the carrier's own conditions

Each carrier has to publish, in its general conditions of carriage, the amount and form of denied-boarding compensation and the service standards that go with it. The regulation sets no national figure.

Article 43, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China — Regulation on the Management of Public Air Transportation Services for Passengers (source dated 2021-04-21; read July 25, 2026)

Ask for the statement of facts

A passenger who volunteers to give up a seat, or who is denied boarding because of overselling, can request a statement of facts to the denied boarding from the carrier or its ground handling agent.

Article 48, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China — Regulation on the Management of Public Air Transportation Services for Passengers (source dated 2021-04-21; read July 25, 2026)

Escalation

How do I complain about a Chinese airline and actually get an answer?

The regulator runs a hotline and a platform, and publishes a deadline at every step. The one you cannot miss is the first.

Complaint route and the published clock at each stage
Stage	Who handles it	The clock	Rule
1. Complain to the airline, airport, ground handler, ticket agent or booking platform	Any of them can be the respondent under the Measures	File within 6 months of the day it happened	Articles 3 and 6
2. Take it to the CAAC Consumer Affairs Center	Hotline 12326, or the supervision platform at www.12326.cn and its app	The Center decides within 7 working days whether it accepts the complaint	Articles 4 and 9
3. Wait for the airline's answer through the platform	The respondent replies to you, not to the regulator alone	10 working days from the day the complaint is forwarded to it	Article 13
4. Ask for mediation if the answer is not good enough	The Consumer Affairs Center mediates	Applied for after the outcome, before the complaint is closed	Article 15
5. Arbitration or court	You, through ordinary legal channels	After the complaint is closed and you are still not satisfied	Article 20

The Consumer Affairs Center takes complaints on the civil aviation service quality supervision hotline 12326 and through the supervision platform at www.12326.cn and its app. A trustee filing for you has to bring a power of attorney and both parties’ identity document information.

Articles 4 and 6, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China — Measures for the Management of Passenger Complaints about Public Air Transport Services (source dated 2021-09-01; read July 25, 2026)

Scope

Do these rules cover my foreign airline?

Both CAAC instruments name foreign carriers explicitly, which is what makes them usable on a mixed itinerary.

Foreign airlines are covered too

The flight regularity rules apply to Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and foreign carriers for flights that originate from or stop over in mainland China. Cargo and mail flights are outside them.

Article 2, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China / Ministry of Transport — Provisions on the Administration of Flight Regularity (source dated 2016-05-20; read July 25, 2026)

So is the complaint route

The complaint Measures apply to foreign carriers and to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan carriers whose flights originate from or transit in the mainland, so the 12326 route is open to you on a foreign airline too.

Article 27, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China — Measures for the Management of Passenger Complaints about Public Air Transport Services (source dated 2021-09-01; read July 25, 2026)

A foreign airline gets longer to answer

Under the flight regularity rules everyone has to acknowledge a complaint within 7 days. A domestic carrier, airport, ground handler or sales agent then responds with substantial information within 10 days; a Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan or foreign carrier gets 20 days, and has to be capable of handling complaints in Chinese.

Articles 45 and 46, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China / Ministry of Transport — Provisions on the Administration of Flight Regularity (source dated 2016-05-20; read July 25, 2026)

Priority for passengers who need it

In a delay or cancellation, carriers, sales agents and ground handling agents have to give priority to disabled persons, senior citizens, pregnant passengers, unaccompanied minors and others who need special care.

Article 30, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China / Ministry of Transport — Provisions on the Administration of Flight Regularity (source dated 2016-05-20; read July 25, 2026)

The airport has duties as well

The airport has to provide medical services in the terminal, and where a large-area delay runs into the night, airport management has to coordinate extended operating hours for the airport shuttle bus.

Articles 31 and 41, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China / Ministry of Transport — Provisions on the Administration of Flight Regularity (source dated 2016-05-20; read July 25, 2026)

Delayed checked baggage

The carrier has to tell you in time when checked baggage is delayed, and where the delay is not your fault and you ask for direct delivery, it has to deliver the bag to you free of charge or agree another solution. A statement of facts to the irregularity is available on request.

Articles 40 and 41, source: Civil Aviation Administration of China — Regulation on the Management of Public Air Transportation Services for Passengers (source dated 2021-04-21; read July 25, 2026)

Not published

What we could not confirm

A stranded passenger is about to argue with a desk agent. Here is exactly where the official texts stop.

No cash compensation figure for a delay. Neither CAAC instrument sets one. China has no equivalent of a fixed EU261 sum, and any figure you see quoted comes from an individual airline's conditions of carriage or from a claims company, not from the regulation.
How long the delay has to run before meals appear. Article 29 splits the duty by cause, not by hours, and publishes no threshold. The only hour thresholds in the opened text are the tarmac ones: 2 hours for food and water, 3 hours for disembarkation.
What each airline actually pays for denied boarding. Article 43 requires every carrier to publish its own amount in its general conditions of carriage. We have not opened those documents, so no figure appears here.
Whether the 12326 hotline answers in English. The Measures name the hotline and the platform but say nothing about the languages either one is staffed in.
Whether a domestic connection bought as two separate tickets counts as a connecting flight. Article 27 covers a connecting flight without defining how the tickets were bought.

The CAAC publishes this English text as a translation for reference; where the two diverge, the Chinese version governs.

In short

China flight disruption questions

Who pays for the hotel, whether there is EU261-style compensation, the tarmac clock, a missed flight, being bumped, and how to complain.

My China domestic flight was cancelled. What does the airline owe me?

It depends on the cause. If the cancellation is down to the carrier — maintenance, crew, its own scheduling — the carrier has to provide food and accommodation. If it is weather, air traffic control, security or a passenger, the carrier only has to help you arrange them and you pay. Either way the rebooking carries no change fee where the cause is the carrier's, an involuntary refund carries no refund fee at all, and the carrier has to give you written proof of the cancellation if you ask.

Does the airline have to pay for my hotel in China?

Only when the cause is the carrier's, or when the disruption happens at a stopover on a domestic flight, or when your flight is diverted. In those three cases the carrier provides accommodation regardless of reason. When the cause is weather, air traffic control, an emergency, security or passengers, the regulation says the carrier assists you in arranging food and accommodation and all costs are borne by passengers.

Is there flight delay compensation in China like EU261?

No. Neither the Provisions on the Administration of Flight Regularity nor the Regulation on the Management of Public Air Transportation Services for Passengers sets a cash compensation amount for a delay. What they set are service duties: food, accommodation, information every 30 minutes, free rebooking and fee-free refunds where the disruption is involuntary. For denied boarding on an oversold flight the amount is whatever the individual carrier publishes in its own conditions of carriage.

We have been sitting on the plane for hours. When do they have to let us off?

Once a tarmac delay reaches 3 hours and there is no definite take-off time, the carrier has to arrange disembarkation, as long as safety and security rules allow it. Before that, at 2 hours, it has to provide food and water, and it has to keep lavatories available and update passengers on the reason and the estimated delay every 30 minutes.

I missed my flight in China. Can I get anything back?

If you missed it, boarded the wrong flight, or failed to board for a reason attributable to the carrier, it is treated as involuntary: free change where a seat exists, and a refund with no fee. If it was not the carrier's fault, the ordinary voluntary rules apply, which means whatever your fare's conditions say. Ask at the transfer or ticketing desk in the terminal rather than online.

I was bumped off an oversold flight in China. What are my rights?

The carrier has to look for volunteers before it uses its boarding priority rules to pick anyone, and those rules have to consider senior, young, sick, disabled and pregnant passengers and connecting flights. Whether you volunteered or were bumped, you can ask for a statement of facts to the denied boarding, and the ticket is changed or refunded under the involuntary rules. The compensation amount is the one published in that carrier's general conditions of carriage.

How do I complain about a Chinese airline?

Complain to the airline, airport, ground handler, ticket agent or booking platform first, then to the CAAC Consumer Affairs Center on the 12326 hotline or through the supervision platform at www.12326.cn and its app. File within 6 months of the day it happened. The Center decides within 7 working days whether to accept it, and the airline has 10 working days from receiving the forwarded complaint to answer you.

Do these rules cover foreign airlines flying in China?

Yes, for flights that originate from or stop over in mainland China. Both the flight regularity rules and the complaint Measures name Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and foreign carriers. Cargo and mail flights are outside the flight regularity rules. One difference: a foreign carrier has 20 days rather than 10 to respond with substantial information on a complaint.

If the rail leg is the one that broke

China Railway publishes its own refund and change ladder, and a missed train is not always a lost ticket.

Open rail guide

Landing late with nothing arranged

Transfer routes, late-night arrivals, and the first ride when the plan has already slipped.

Open page

If the delay pushes past your permitted stay

The published extension route, the seven-day deadline, and what an overstay costs.