Flight or train disrupted in China? Start here

Put the next ten minutes in order

Open the booking and check the date, service number and actual airport or station. Read the latest message from the operator alongside the departure board. A rumour about a route, a sold-out search result or a paused ticket sale does not by itself establish that your booked service has been cancelled.

1. Save the change. Keep a screenshot of the notice and your original booking. Record the time of the update.
2. Find the right contact. The operating airline is the name shown next to “operated by”; the seller is the website, app or agency on your booking receipt. The operator handles the situation on the ground; the seller may need to change a booking it issued.
3. Protect the next commitment. Tell the person meeting you, the next hotel and anyone arranging an onward service that the arrival time is uncertain.

Ask the airline for a complete next journey

Ask whether the flight is delayed, cancelled or diverted, and what the airline is offering for your ticket. Confirm the airport, date, cabin and arrival time of a proposed replacement. A different departure airport can also change the transfer you need.

Before accepting a replacement, ask where your checked bags are and whether you must collect or recheck them. If you are already in a terminal, follow the airline or ground agent's directions about leaving the departure area and returning through security.

For a delayed or cancelled departure from mainland China, the cause affects meals and accommodation. At the original departure airport, airline-caused disruption requires food and accommodation; for weather and other non-airline causes there, the airline assists with arrangements at the passenger's expense. A delay or cancellation at an intermediate stop on a domestic flight includes food and accommodation regardless of the cause. After a diversion, the rules require a mainland Chinese airline to provide food and accommodation. Ask the airline how your situation is being handled before paying for an alternative.

Written proof of a flight delay or cancellation is available on request. Keep it with the booking and any receipts. Cash compensation and reimbursement are separate questions governed by the applicable rules and ticket terms; do not treat the offer of a meal or room as an answer about every other expense.

Use the railway's disruption route

If the train is delayed but still running, ask the station or 12306 about its current status and the available alternatives. Check the departure station and whether a replacement service has seats before releasing your existing ticket.

For a train cancelled by the railway, the current refund window runs from publication of the cancellation until 30 days after the ticketed travel date, without a refund fee. At a station counter, bring the original identity document used for the booking. If a seller arranged the ticket, contact it about the process for that order.

Tell staff about any connected train before refunding tickets separately. Eligible onward tickets bought before the cancellation announcement can be handled together before the onward train departs. Delay-related connected-ticket treatment also has conditions; show the whole journey and ask which tickets qualify.

Keep the foreign-passport train guide open for the station, document and boarding details. A new ticket still needs the correct passport and station.

If you missed the flight or train yourself

Go to a staffed airline or railway counter, or contact the seller immediately. Have the booking reference and original passport ready. Explain whether check-in closed, boarding was missed or the service had already departed; these situations need a different answer from an operator cancellation.

1. Ask about this ticket first. Establish whether it can be changed, what the cost would be and which replacement departure can be confirmed before buying another ticket.
2. Check the remaining journey. For a multi-flight booking, ask whether later flights are still valid. Show any separately booked connections as well.
3. Update the arrival plan. Give your hotel and transfer provider the new service number and arrival date once confirmed.

Rebuild the rest of the day around the new arrival

Write down what changes after the replacement journey: an airport pickup, the next train, hotel check-in and any timed visit. Ask each provider what can be moved, what needs reconfirming and whether there is an extra cost.

For an international flight home, ask the airline or ticket seller whether the onward connection is part of the arrangement it will protect. Separately purchased tickets need a separate answer. Do not assume a hotel, driver or another airline will automatically absorb a disruption elsewhere.

Give your hotel an updated arrival estimate and ask it to confirm the room will be held, particularly if the journey now crosses midnight. Send the replacement service number to the person meeting you, rather than only saying that the journey is late.

Compare an alternative flight or train from hotel to hotel, including transfers and the time needed to retrieve bags. Our domestic flights guide explains that comparison. If waiting is the sensible option, arrange food, charging and a place to sit before making the next decision.

Report a missing checked bag before leaving arrivals

Take your baggage tag, boarding pass and travelling document to the airline's baggage service desk. Explain which bag is missing, obtain the report or case reference, and check the contact route for updates.

• Give a reachable number and the full address where you will actually stay next.
• Describe the bag and show a photograph if you have one.
• Ask how delivery or collection will work if the bag arrives after you move cities.
• Ask about reporting and claim deadlines, and the process for necessary interim purchases.

Keep receipts for items you need while waiting. Ask what the airline and your policy cover before assuming a particular purchase will be reimbursed. If essential medicine is inside the missing bag, explain the urgency and seek appropriate medical help rather than improvising a replacement.

For a missing passport, phone or card, follow the separate loss action plan. Those losses need their own document and account-protection steps.

Keep a small, usable record

Save the original ticket, the disruption notice, the replacement or refund confirmation, and itemized receipts for agreed extra expenses. Add any baggage report and the relevant customer-service correspondence. A short note saying whom you spoke to and what was agreed can make the next conversation easier.

Check the travel insurance checklist for the claims folder and your insurer's assistance requirements. Ask your actual insurer about the event; a transport problem does not automatically make every resulting expense insured.