China's State-run airlines are enraging passengers with horrible delays

During the past decade, China has spent billions on building some of the largest and most modern airports in the world. With so many new stunning airports, one would think that they would be the envy of the world. Here is the catch; Chinese airports are renowned for having horrible punctuality. In fact, not a single Chinese airport managed to get even half of its flights to leave on time. Even worse, Beijing’s Capital Airport had an anemic 18% of its flights leave on time last month, making it the worst major airport for punctuality in the world.

What do these constant delays do to the psyche of the Chinese travelers? Well, it enrages them beyond belief. Violent attacks have erupted at airports across China. Angry passengers are taking out their frustrations on hapless airport and airline staff members. Back in July, 30 angry passengers broke through security and stormed the runway at Nanchang airport after being delayed for 7 hours. This summer alone has seen at least eight large protests at departure gates throughout China. There have been numerous reports of random attacks on flight attendants. One such attack involved a man assaulting a stewardess on a delayed flight while other passengers watched and even applauded him while he hit her.

Protesters battle with police and airline personnel at a Chinese airport

 

This is all disturbing news on both fronts. The fact that these flight delays are so rampant is a great cause for concern for anyone traveling in China. On the other side, it is also very disturbing that airline workers are subject to violent attacks for something they have no control over.

As China continues to boost its airport infrastructure, the world will be watching to see if they can improve on punctuality and efficiency. This is certainly a cause for concern for Western businessmen who frequent China on business. They will no doubt be keeping an eye on this issue in the next year and hoping that the situation improves.