Passengers stranded in Asia as major airlines cancel 23 flights and delay 483 more

Passengers stranded in Asia as major airlines cancel 23 flights and delay 483 morePassengers were forced to miss connecting flights and faced hours of disruption - reports suggest there was overcrowded waiting areas and huge queues at major airportsNewsPeter Hennessy UK & World News Editor01:35, 20 Apr 2026View 2 ImagesShanghai Pudong International AirportPassengers have been left stranded after a huge number of flights were reportedly cancelled as four major airlines experienced delays.‌According to Travel and Tour World, nearly 500 flights were delayed as Capital Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, China Eastern Airlines and Pakistan International Airlines.‌The airlines collectively cancelled 23 flights across a number of different airports in Asia, including Shanghai Pudong and Islamabad International Airport.‌Reports suggest that these delays created a whole host of problems - with passengers missing connecting flights and facing hours of disruption. Travel and Tour World reports that there were overcrowded waiting areas and huge queues at Shanghai and Beijing.It comes as Aer Lingus is expected to cancel around 500 flights due to "mandatory maintenance" on aircraft.An Aer Lingus spokesperson told RSVP Live: "Aer Lingus has commenced operating its planned summer schedule. A number of recent cancellations have been required due to mandatory maintenance on aircraft, along with a limited number of schedule adjustments.‌"Where schedule adjustments are being made, the vast majority of customers are being reaccommodated on same day services."View 2 ImagesAer Lingus has reported it will be cancelling hundreds of flights in the coming weeks.(Image: Artur Widak/Getty Images)Earlier this month, Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary cautioned that flights could be cancelled this summer owing to the soaring cost of jet fuel.‌He told ITV News: "We're all facing an unknown scenario. And we are certainly looking at maybe having to cancel 5 per cent,...