Delays or Cancellations

It must first be pointed out that low cloud cover and localized thunderstorms around an airport's runways are a common cause of flight delays. The flight paths which an aircraft can take are also extremely limited. This means that even though the weather conditions at the destination airport may be fine, the flight paths may not be. Flights may therefore be delayed due to considerations for passenger safety.

Firstly, the planned fuel capacity of the aircraft is determined with reference to its average taxiing time and flight time. If the plane takes a long time waiting on the ground, which leads to insufficient fuel available to arrive at the destination, the aircraft has to return to the landing field to refuel. Secondly, if there is a failure to receive an accurate take-off command from air traffic control or any other incident occurs, in order to keep passengers safe and avoid a bad mental among the crew, the aircraft will keep taxiing.

Possible reasons:

1. The standard of takeoff and landing is related to the aircraft, and different airlines may have different safety standards for the same aircraft;

2. According to CAAC, the captain is entitled to reject to fly when the civil aircraft, airport, and weather condition do not accord with the regulations, and flying safety cannot be guaranteed based on the civil aviation regulations. Meanwhile, captains may have different decisions.

In any of the following circumstances, China Southern Airlines may change the type of plane used or flight course taken, or cancel, suspend, delay, or postpone a flight without any prior notification in accordance with relevant regulations:

1. To comply with state laws, administrative regulations, rules, commands or requirements;

2. To ensure flight safety;

3. Due to any other uncontrollable or unforeseen reasons.

If the carrier cancels or delays a flight due to any of the above-mentioned reasons and thereby fails to: provide passengers with their booked seats (including in their booked cabin class), stop at the required stopover or destination, or help passengers to catch a proper connecting flight, China Southern Airlines will adopt any of the following measures in consideration of the reasonable needs of affected passengers:

1. Provide available seats on later flights to affected passengers;

2. Transfer passengers onto other flights after receiving the consent of such passengers and any related carriers;

3. Change the segment listed on the original ticket, and arrange for China Southern Airlines or other carriers to send the passengers to their destination or stopover location;

4. Deal with the situation according to the rules for involuntary refunds

China Southern Airlines will adopt all necessary measures to avoid causing delays to passengers and their luggage. China Southern Airlines will not assume any responsibility if it has adopted all necessary measures or cannot adopt the required measures.

An involuntary refund is when a passenger requests a refund for their tickets if a carrier cancels, delays, or changes a flight; departs ahead of the scheduled departure time; or fails to provide the booked seats.

1. When a flight is delayed or cancelled due to reasons ascribable to China Southern Airlines (such as aircraft maintenance, flight allocation, or aircrew issues), food and accommodation will be provided free to passengers as required.

2. If the delay or cancellation occurs at the departure point due to reasons unrelated to China Southern Airlines (including but not limited to weather conditions, unexpected events, air traffic control, airport faults, or passenger problems), food and accommodation will be arranged by China Southern Airlines but must be paid for by passengers.

3. If the delay or cancellation occurs at the stopover point, the carrier will be responsible for offering food and accommodation to passengers.

If the original cabin class cannot be provided due to a change of flight or aircraft, China Southern Airlines will try to make proper arrangements as you wish. If you do not find these arrangements acceptable, you can apply for an involuntary refund.

The possible reasons causing this are as follows:

1. The standards applied for takeoff and landing are related to the aircraft used. Different airlines may also have different safety standards for the same aircraft;

2. According to the Civil Aviation Authority, the captain is entitled to refuse to fly when the aircraft, airport, or weather conditions do not meet those set out in the regulations or flight safety cannot be guaranteed based on civil aviation regulations. Each captain may also make a different professional judgment.

Whether another flight can be arranged after a cancellation depends on the following factors: approval from air traffic control, if passengers can be transferred to the next day, as well as the working time restrictions for aircrew and aircraft. In addition, flight safety and airworthiness is also taken into consideration.

An airports’ air traffic control center (especially those in busier ones with many flights taking off and landing in close proximity to one another) must manage the takeoff and landing of flights within safe intervals based on the number of flights in the air and on the ground in order to ensure safe operations. In some busy airports or at peak hours, air traffic is overloaded which results in ground traffic also being overloaded. In this case, it is normal that planes have to taxi on the runway or wait for much longer time.

The takeoff of all flights at the same airport is based on a series of orders from air traffic control. Air traffic control also determines the sequence in which planes take off in the light of captains' departure application times. As a captain cannot make a departure application until the cabin doors have been closed and everything is ready for takeoff, the earlier this application is made the shorter passengers need to wait.

Firstly, when a flight has been delayed for a long time, the carrier may shorten the delay time by adjusting its flight operation plans. This includes transferring passengers to alternative aircraft. However, alternate aircraft is not available at every airport. Secondly, temporary aircraft transfer plans are subject to the approval of air traffic control. Therefore, even though alternate aircraft are available, they may not be used for a flight.

Flight delays are currently the major reason for passengers' distrust of airline companies. This is actually a shortcoming caused by continuously providing delay information. Each airline company has a dispatch center that carefully allocates all of its aircraft. Once there is a problem during this operation (such as aircraft failure or an airport closure), the whole flight will be affected. The dispatch center will then make timely adjustments in accordance with the actual situation to restore normal flight operation as early as possible, notify any subsequent flights to make their corresponding preparations, and estimate a rough delay time. However, if the situation keeps on changing, new problems may occur during the dispatch process. A new delay can lead to a change of plans, thus making a flight be delayed repeatedly.

There are many reasons why carriers cancel or merge flights due to delays (such as carrier issues, air traffic control orders, or important events taking place at the airport or within the country). If the delay is caused by the carrier itself, on the one hand the carrier will compensate passengers for their losses; On the other hand, the cancellation and merger of flights is to protect the rights of passengers as reducing the impact on subsequent flights will restore normal flight operation as quick as possible.

A carrier will normally consider arranging another aircraft when sufficient resources and capacity are available to avoid prolonged delays.

Delays caused due to dispatching reasons are delays caused by an adjustment to China Southern Airlines flights in light of its flight operations, while delays caused by planning reasons are delays caused to subsequent flights as a result of not planning enough time for flight segments or allocating inadequate turnaround time for flights.

This is because the carrier, airport, and air traffic control might obtain different information from different resources for the same flight. As a carrier, China Southern Airlines will inform passengers of any information related to delays as soon as possible.

After a flight is cancelled, the carrier will provide passengers with the closest subsequent flight or the closest flight to the destination most suitable for passengers. Once the flight has been changed, a contract for buying a new ticket will be deemed to have been established. If passengers do not accept these new arrangements, they can request a refund of their tickets in full according to the provisions of applying for an involuntary refund. If it is inconvenient for passengers to request a refund at that time, they can go to a China Southern Airlines ticketing office and show corresponding documentation to apply for a refund of their tickets within the specified period.

Unless the law states otherwise, China Southern Airlines will offer the following services to choose from if the cancellation of a flight leads to the late takeoff of your flight, failure to land at the required destination or stopover point, or booked connecting flights being missed:

1. Arrange the earliest flight on China Southern Airlines with available seats free of charge, or prolong the validity period of tickets if necessary;

2. During a reasonable period of time, arrange flights on China Southern Airlines or other carriers free of charge with a change of route, or send passengers to the destination stated on the tickets via other means of transported acceptable to both parties without additional charges;

3. Refund tickets according to the provisions stipulated for involuntary refunds.

Help with irregular flights:

1. When a flight is delayed or cancelled due to the fault of China Southern Airlines (such as aircraft maintenance, flight allocation, business or aircrew issues), China Southern Airlines will provide up-to-date information along with food and accommodation to passengers without any charge as appropriate;

2. If a delay or cancellation occurs at the departure location due to reasons unrelated to China Southern Airlines (such as bad weather, unexpected events, air traffic control, security inspections, or a passenger’s own fault), China Southern Airlines will offer up-to-date flight information and assist in the arrangement of food and hotel accommodation for passengers at their own cost;

3. If a delay or cancellation occurs at a stopover point, China Southern Airlines will offer food and accommodation to passengers free of charge.