Recently, Chinese airlines have been cancelling flights to Southeast Asia and Oceania, including multiple routes to and from Singapore. This has disrupted travel plans for travelers between China and Singapore in April and May, and is expected to directly impact the usual influx of Chinese visitors to Singapore during the Golden Week in early May.
According to checks by Lianhe Zaobao reporters on the 'Flight Manager' data platform, many flights between Singapore and cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and Chongqing have already been cancelled from late April to early May.
According to reports, Singaporean travel agencies pointed out that since the outbreak of the war in Iran triggered a global energy crisis, Chinese airlines have been gradually reducing and consolidating flights between Chinese cities and Singapore, especially those with low occupancy rates. Travel platforms show that multiple incoming flights to Beijing from China over the next two weeks have been cancelled. Juneyao Airlines' HO1606 flight to Shanghai Pudong will be suspended until the end of May. For China Eastern Airlines, some flights from Singapore to Wuhan and Shanghai have also been cancelled.
Zhuo Qionghua, Marketing Manager of Datong Travel, said when interviewed that the Middle East conflict has pushed up fuel prices, and multiple Chinese airlines have gradually cancelled flights. She pointed out that there is no specific pattern to the flight cancellations—airlines will arrange for passengers to take flights departing a few days earlier or later, or to fly to other cities.
The flight cancellations not only affect Singaporeans’ travel plans, but also impact the wave of Chinese tourists visiting Singapore. With the upcoming May Day Golden Week, there have already been posts on social media platforms like Facebook and Xiaohongshu by Chinese travelers describing their outbound flights being cancelled.