Summer thunderstorms across eastern China cascade through the network, and Beijing and Shanghai are where the queue backs up. That much every guide says, including ours, before advising you to build slack into connections and moving on.
What none of them say is that China has a detailed rule governing what happens next, and that the answer is not the one European travellers expect.
Whose fault it was decides everything#
The instrument is the Flight Normality Provisions (航班正常管理规定, Hángbān Zhèngcháng Guǎnlǐ Guīdìng), issued by the Ministry of Transport as Order No. 56 of 2016 and in force since 1 January 2017. Article 29 sets out who pays for meals and a bed, in four situations:
| What happened | Who pays for meals and a hotel |
|---|---|
| Delayed or cancelled at the departure airport, through the airline's own fault — maintenance, scheduling, crew | The airline |
| Delayed or cancelled at the departure airport, for reasons outside the airline — weather, air traffic control, security, an emergency, passengers | The airline helps you arrange it, you pay |
| A domestic flight delayed or cancelled at an en-route stop, whatever the cause | The airline |
| A domestic flight diverted, whatever the cause | The airline |
Read the bottom two rows again, because they are the part nobody knows. The same weather that leaves you paying for your own hotel in Beijing is on the airline the moment it strands you at a 经停 (jīng tíng, en-route stop) or forces a 备降 (bèi jiàng, diversion). Cause stops mattering; only where you are does.
This is worth knowing precisely because it is the situation in which you have least idea what is happening — put down at an airport you never intended to visit, at night, with announcements in Chinese only. Ask for accommodation. It is not a favour.
What the airline owes you regardless#
Three further provisions are worth carrying.
Information, within thirty minutes. Article 26 requires the carrier to publish delay or cancellation information — through its app, website, call centre, SMS, phone or announcements — within 30 minutes of learning that the flight's status has changed. If nothing has appeared, the airline is not yet certain either.
A refund or a rebooking. Article 27 requires the carrier to handle refunds or changes properly when a flight is delayed or cancelled, in line with its conditions of carriage and the fare rules. This is a right to have the request processed, not a right to any particular outcome, which is why the next point matters so much.
The airline's own compensation standard, published. Article 17 requires a domestic carrier's 运输总条件 (yùnshū zǒng tiáojiàn, conditions of carriage) to state whether it pays compensation for delays and, if so, on what conditions, at what level and in what form.
For the same reason, a delay is measured generously in the regulation's own terms: it defines a departure delay from 15 minutes past the scheduled time. That is a reporting threshold for the statistics, not a compensation trigger.
Baggage: the rule everyone quotes has been repealed#
Almost every English-language page about Chinese domestic flights says lost or damaged checked baggage is compensated at ¥100 per kilogram. That figure came from the 2006 Provisions on Liability Limits of Domestic Air Carriers, and it is no longer the law.
The revised Civil Aviation Law of the PRC, promulgated on 27 December 2025 and in force from 1 July 2026, removes the distinction between domestic and international liability limits altogether. Its Article 136 provides that the limits are those set out in the international civil aviation conventions China is party to, as announced by the civil aviation authority. CAAC accordingly decided on 8 May 2026 to repeal the 2006 provisions with effect from the same 1 July.
The convention in question is the 1999 Montreal Convention, which China ratified in 2005 and which caps a carrier's liability for baggage that is lost, damaged or delayed at 1,288 special drawing rights per passenger. That is a per-passenger ceiling rather than a per-kilogram rate, which is a materially different and generally better deal for anyone whose bag was light and valuable. Its value in yuan moves with the SDR exchange rate, so there is no fixed figure to quote.
The practical instruction is unchanged and unglamorous: report the loss at the baggage desk before leaving the arrivals hall, keep the report reference, and claim through your insurer as well as the airline.
What to do at the airport#
- Find out the stated cause, because it decides the first table above. It is displayed on the airline's app and repeated at the desk.
- Ask explicitly for accommodation if you were diverted or stranded at a stopover. It is owed whatever the cause, and it will not always be offered unprompted.
- Watch the status yourself rather than waiting to be told — the transport guide names the app locals use for this, which is more accurate than the airline's own.
- Consider the train. On many routes the rail alternative departs within the hour and is barely weather-affected, which is half the reason the train usually wins the comparison in the first place.
Frequently asked questions#
Does a Chinese airline have to pay for a hotel if my flight is delayed?#
Only if the delay is the airline's own fault — maintenance, scheduling or crew. If the cause is weather, air traffic control, security or an emergency, the airline must help you arrange a room but you pay for it. The exception is that a domestic flight delayed at an en-route stop, or diverted, obliges the airline to provide meals and accommodation whatever the cause.
Is there compensation for flight delays in China like EU261?#
No. China has no automatic statutory cash compensation scheme for delays. The Flight Normality Provisions require each domestic airline to state in its published conditions of carriage whether it pays compensation and on what terms, so what you can claim depends on the carrier, not on a fixed legal entitlement.
How much do Chinese airlines pay for lost luggage?#
Not ¥100 per kilogram — that 2006 rule was repealed with effect from 1 July 2026. The revised Civil Aviation Law aligns domestic limits with the 1999 Montreal Convention, which caps liability for lost, damaged or delayed baggage at 1,288 special drawing rights per passenger. Report the loss at the airport before leaving the arrivals hall.
How quickly must a Chinese airline tell me my flight is delayed?#
Within 30 minutes of the carrier learning that the flight's status has changed, through its app, website, call centre, SMS, phone or airport announcements. If no information has been published, the airline itself does not yet have a firm answer.
Can I get a refund if my Chinese domestic flight is cancelled?#
The airline must process a refund or a rebooking properly, but the terms come from your fare rules and the carrier's conditions of carriage rather than from a fixed legal formula. Ask for the rebooking first — on a cancelled flight it is usually the faster and better outcome than a refund.
Are flight delays really that common in China?#
Common enough to plan around, particularly in the summer thunderstorm season and through the Beijing and Shanghai hubs, where congestion cascades. It is the main practical argument for taking the train wherever the journey is under about eight hours.