China Southern Airlines stands by low-priced tickets sold during glitch

China Southern Airlines said it will honor tickets sold at extremely low prices during a system malfunction on Wednesday evening, allowing passengers to travel normally.

The glitch affected tickets involving routes to and from Chengdu, Sichuan province, which were sold for as low as 10 to 30 yuan ($1.4 to $4.2) per flight. This included two-way trips from Chengdu to major cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou for just 340 yuan, about one-third or one-fourth of the regular discounted price.

The prices appeared on multiple ticketing channels, including the airline’s official website, mini-apps, and various online travel agencies, before they were eventually frozen and became unavailable. Screenshots of the low-priced tickets were circulated on social media, with some users showing that they had booked more than 10 such trips.

The flights involved are all part of a code-sharing program between China Southern Airlines and Chengdu Airlines, and will be operated by the latter. Experts have assumed that the low prices were likely caused by a setting error.

In a statement on Thursday, China Southern Airlines said it will not cancel the low-priced tickets, and that passengers can travel normally. However, the airline said that passengers will not be able to request a refund or change of such flights under regular procedure, according to a report by the Nanfang Daily.

It is unclear how many low-priced tickets were sold during the glitch.