On July 24, 2026, the Beijing Tianjin Hebei Consumer Association jointly held talks in Tianjin with 10 airlines including Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, Tianjin Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Juneyao Airlines, Spring Airlines, Hebei Airlines, as well as 5 online ticketing platforms including Tongcheng, Ctrip, Fliggy, Qunar, and Meituan, requiring them to complete self inspection and rectification of ticket overbooking issues before August 31, and simultaneously publicize overbooking rules and compensation standards.
1, Background and Basis of Interview
In early July 2026, the Beijing Tianjin Hebei Consumer Association jointly conducted a special survey on awareness of overbooking of civil aviation tickets, and found that over 70% of passengers lacked understanding of overbooking rights. Risk warnings during the ticket purchasing process generally had problems such as small text, concealed location, and vague expression. According to Article 40 of the Implementation Regulations of the Consumer Rights Protection Law, the three consumer associations organized joint talks in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei on July 24th.
2, List of airlines interviewed (10 in total)
China International Airlines
China Southern Airlines
China Eastern Airlines
Hainan Airlines
Xiamen Airlines
Tianjin Airlines
Sichuan Airlines
Juneyao Air
Spring Airlines
Hebei Airlines
3, List of Online Ticketing Platforms Interviewed (5 in total)
Tongcheng Travel
Ctrip
Fliggy
Where to travel
Meituan
4, Four core rectification suggestions
The Beijing Tianjin Hebei Consumers' Association proposes the following rectification requirements in accordance with the Consumer Rights Protection Law, the Regulations on the Management of Passenger Services in Public Air Transport, and the newly revised Civil Aviation Law:
1. Improve pre purchase notification to ensure passengers' right to know
Online ticket purchasing channels (airline apps, official websites, OTA platforms) must fully publicize overbooking rules, on-site disposal procedures, and graded cash compensation standards in a prominent and independent manner.
It is prohibited to weaken the prompt by using small characters, folding to hide, light gray fading, and other methods.
The public notice should specify the voluntary seat abandonment process, the scope of special passenger protection, the policy of free refund and change, the standards for food and accommodation protection, and the detailed rules for graded cash compensation.
2. Optimize on-site disposal processes and respect passengers' right to choose
When overbooking occurs, passengers must be informed proactively and a complete resettlement plan must be provided, and disposal records must be kept throughout the process.
Priority will be given to passengers who voluntarily give up their seats, and it is strictly prohibited to forcibly refuse boarding without consultation.
Establish special protection mechanisms for the elderly, pregnant and postpartum women, disabled individuals, minors, emergency travelers, and connecting passengers, with priority given to seat allocation.
3. Refine compensation supporting services and maintain passengers' right to claim compensation
Passengers who are unable to board due to overbooking can choose to have a full free refund or a free rescheduling to the earliest available flight of the day. No handling fees or price differences will be charged, and early morning or late night flights cannot be arranged forcibly.
Airlines must establish and publicly disclose a tiered cash compensation standard, and passengers can choose whether to pay in cash or not. Mileage or vouchers cannot be used as a mandatory substitute.
Passengers who are unable to travel on the same day should be provided with free accommodation, meals, and airport shuttle services by the airline.
4. Smooth out long-term complaint channels and improve passenger satisfaction
Airlines need to establish a special ledger for overbooking complaints, specifying the time limits for acceptance, handling, and feedback.
The ticketing platform should synchronously establish a complaint ledger and achieve information exchange with the airline's complaint system to ensure timely acceptance and feedback of passenger complaints.
Proactively cooperate with the consumption investigation and supervision work organized by the Consumer Association.
5, Spring Airlines publicly criticized and subsequent response
During the communication before the interview, the Spring Airlines service hotline was unable to contact the manual customer service, and the Consumer Association did not receive any response after sending a letter. As a result, it was publicly criticized by the three local Consumer Associations, who demanded that the service response shortcomings be addressed, proactive communication be made, and timely rectification be carried out. Spring Airlines released a statement on July 24th, stating that after learning about the live broadcast of the interview through public channels, they actively arranged for a dedicated person to study online. After the meeting, they sent representatives to report in person, sincerely accepted criticism, and promised to comprehensively rectify the situation, implementing the four suggestions one by one.
6, Rectification deadline and subsequent supervision
The Beijing Tianjin Hebei Consumer Association requires all interviewed enterprises to complete self inspection and rectification before August 31, 2026, clarifying rectification measures, responsible departments, and completion deadlines. For enterprises that fail to rectify or continue to infringe upon consumer rights, the Consumer Association will take further measures in accordance with the law. At the same time, under the guidance of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the China Air Transport Association is also studying and formulating group standards for flight overbooking, focusing on regulating information disclosure and compensation plans. After completion, opinions will be solicited from the public.
