Throwback Thursday: A Jolly Tradition of Flight Delay Rants in Beijing Airport

Throwback Thursday takes a look back into Beijing's past, using our eleven-year-strong blog archives to glance at the weird and wonderful of yesteryear.

There are only two camps claiming Beijing's airport is timely: a handful of lucky travelers, and the official statisticians. In fact, the Beijinger reported on our city's horrible international rankings in that regard in both 2009 and 2010. It comes as no surprise that both articles were published shortly after New Year's Day since that is when many vacationing Beijingers endure delays while flooding back into the city.

Back in 2009, Forbes reported that only 38 percent of Beijing Capital International Airport's flights departed on time, securing the title of the "World's Worst Departure Airport" for the second year in a row. The worst airport for arriving passengers was Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, with 45 percent of flights arriving on time.

Beijing's flight woes were blamed on forever-delayed domestic flights, while international flights tended to be more punctual. Local press dismissed the information as entirely misleading since the surveying organization did not even ask for the official statistics from the airport. Surely, the flawless (and, possibly, not entirely truthful) official record would have lifted Beijing's ranking to a more respectable level, at least in the eyes of Beijing Capital International Airport's statisticians. Those officials have also been known to give amusing reasons for delays, such as: "The aircraft is delayed due to aircraft delay."

However, Beijing's dismal stats improved in 2010. Whether that uptick was due to doctored official information or actual progress remains a mystery. Even though Beijing Capital International Airport remained the world's least timely, its on-time rate at least jumped up to 47.86 percent that year. 

China's airlines have also become notorious for the varied reasons behind their delays. From a power bank bursting into flames to passengers opening emergency doors, there has never been a dull moment in that regard. 

Flash forward to 2018. While Beijing Capital International Airport still hasn't cracked the top 20 most punctual airports, it did rank as the second busiest airport in the world last year. With that in mind, we can forgive some of the delays, and console ourselves with a mini-staycation at the airport's KFC.

Images: Linkfluence, SCMP, CNN

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Email: tautviledaugelaite@thebeijinger.com