Hainan Airlines Is Pulling Europe Flights Right Through the Holidays

Hainan Airlines has extended cuts to its European network into late December, according to schedule filings reported by AeroRoutes on November 9. The changes hit nine routes, and most of them start in Shenzhen. All three weekly Shenzhen to Brussels flights are cancelled from November 8 to December 30. The twice-weekly Shenzhen to Paris Charles de Gaulle service is cancelled from November 9 to December 31, except for a single December 18 departure, and Shenzhen to Budapest is off from November 16 to December 28.

Other routes are being thinned rather than suspended. Shenzhen to Rome Fiumicino drops from three weekly flights to one through December 31, though departures on December 22 and 24 still operate. Shenzhen to Milan Malpensa falls from three weekly flights to two, with extra cancellations on November 16 and 21. Shenzhen to Madrid loses its weekly flight until December 19, Shenzhen to Vienna is cancelled through December 31, and Shanghai Pudong to Brussels is cut from three weekly flights to one until November 21.

The London service is affected too. Hainan’s Haikou to London Heathrow route, which stops in Changsha, is cancelled from November 6 to December 28, and the earliest planned restart is January 1, 2027, which reports describe as tentative. AeroRoutes also notes further December reductions on routes from Beijing, without giving details. The airline has not publicly explained the cuts, and coverage describes them as route-by-route trimming rather than a withdrawal from Europe.

Anyone holding a Hainan ticket between China and Europe for November or December should check the booking directly with the airline rather than waiting for a notification, and ask about rebooking or a refund if a flight has gone. The bigger risk is for travelers who booked connecting journeys on separate tickets. If the Hainan leg moves or disappears, the onward flight will not be protected, so it is worth checking every connection now, while there is still time to make other plans.

Sources: AeroRoutes, Rus Tourism News