Flight delay insurance in China: not a high-flying business

Flight delays in mainland China are so bad that air travellers and insurance companies have lost interest in betting against them.

Insurers are either moving away from the product or tightening the claim conditions as delays happen so frequently, while customers are deterred from buying the insurance by the complex compensation procedures.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport, the mainland’s ­second-busiest airport after Beijing and the worst when it comes to delays, would continue to be banned from adding flights as punishment after its on-time rates had fallen below the standard for three consecutive months since March, the Civil ­Aviation Administration of China said on its website on July 1.

The start of the summer rainy season has worsened delays caused by air traffic control at ­major hubs. But flight delay in­surances, a market that emerged more than a decade ago, remains less than popular.