Shenzhen Air denies safety issues after switching up flight schedule

Shenzhen Airlines Sunday denied safety concerns were behind the adjustment of some of its regional flights, blaming the shift instead on seasonality.

"We do have some small changes on regional flights, but it is due to the end of summer," said Li Yinghui, spokesman of Shenzhen Airlines, adding weather is also one reason for some suspension.

Earlier reports said that more than 20 regional flights from Shenzhen were suspended due to a "safety check" after two regional carriers had incidents in less than two weeks.

On August 24, a Henan Airlines regional jet crashed in the northeastern city of Yichun, killing 42 people. Four days later, one wing of a Huaxia Airlines plane scraped the ground while landing, an accident that was followed by a suspension order for all flights of the carrier by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

"The Shenzhen Airlines' flight suspension must be connected with the industry's safety check," Yao Jun, analyst from China Merchants Securities, Sunday told the Global Times. "The transport capacity has been in full operation in peak season for some airlines, and there are many temporary flights added during that period," said Yao, adding there have already airlines conducting safety check after the incidents.

Shanghai-based China Eastern, one of the three largest carriers, was also reported to have cancelled some flights from Chengdu in Sichuan Province, to cities such as Wuhan in Hubei Province, Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, and Shanghai. Zhu Yan from China Eastern told the Global Times Sunday that the adjustment is "only due to market demand."