On October 7, the final day of the National Day holiday, a user posted a video on social media stating that they had taken West Air flight PN6452 from Guangzhou to Zhengzhou, only to encounter a lengthy delay, forcing passengers to stay overnight at the airport.

On October 8, West Air stated, "Due to bird migration, the aircraft was struck by a bird and damaged, making it unable to take off normally. Because this falls under public safety reasons and is not attributable to the airline, we cannot arrange accommodation for passengers or provide financial compensation."

In the early hours of October 8, a user posted on social media, "A 11 PM flight dragged until 4:30 AM is quite something." They also attached a screenshot of a text message they received, which read: "Due to public safety, the October 7 flight PN6452 from Guangzhou to Zhengzhou has undergone a schedule change."

Flight tracking platform data shows that West Air flight PN6452 was originally scheduled to depart from Guangzhou Baiyun Airport at 11:05 PM on October 7, heading to Zhengzhou Xinzheng Airport, with a planned arrival time of 1:30 AM on October 8. However, the flight actually departed at 5:06 AM on October 8 and arrived at 6:58 AM.

A passenger on the flight told reporters that airline staff said that night the flight was delayed with the departure time to be determined, but did not disclose the specific reason. "After midnight, the staff gradually left. Only after we pressed them repeatedly did they say it was an aircraft malfunction, that they didn't know when it could fly, and that no accommodation had been arranged for us." The passenger said that all passengers on that flight were forced to stay overnight at the airport, and airline staff only provided bottled water, eight-treasure porridge, and biscuits, with no other compensation.

The passenger said, "Because we had to work the next day and didn't know when the flight would take off, we wanted to apply for a refund or rebooking, but airline staff said they could not compensate for the handling fee losses. In the end, the flight was delayed by six hours before taking off, and some passengers with connecting flights were delayed as a result."

Reporters found that the Provisions on the Administration of Flight Normalcy issued by the Ministry of Transport clearly state: when a flight is delayed or cancelled at the point of origin due to non-carrier reasons such as weather, emergencies, air traffic control, security checks, or passengers, the carrier shall assist passengers in arranging meals and accommodation, with expenses borne by the passengers themselves. Bird strikes are typically classified under "emergencies" or "public safety reasons," which fall under non-carrier reasons. The Provisions on the Administration of Passenger Services in Public Air Transport, issued by the Ministry of Transport in 2021, also mentions that non-carrier reasons refer to other reasons unrelated to the carrier's internal management, including factors such as weather, emergencies, air traffic control, security checks, and passengers.