UpdateShanghai, Hangzhou airports back to normal as weather clears up

The yellow alert for flight delays at airports in Shanghai and Hangzhou has been lifted as weather in the region cleared up, the mainland’s civilian air traffic authority said in an update on its website.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China’s Air Traffic Management Bureau said all operations at Shanghai’s Pudong and Hongqiao international airports as well as Hangzhou’s Xiaoshan airport had returned to normal in the afternoon.

Some routes had also regained their usual levels of air traffic capacity, it said.

The Shanghai Airport Authority posted an update at 1.40pm on its official weibo account, stating that the cloudless weather was now suitable for both take-offs and landings. It added that no flight had been delayed for more than two hours today.

The aviation administration had warned last night that Shanghai’s two airports would face large-scale delays this afternoon because of large clusters of rain clouds that were expected to form above the city between 1pm and 5pm today.

The airports would suffer a 36 per cent fall in air traffic capacity, it said. It added that Hangzhou’s Xiaoshan airport would also be affected.

The bureau’s warning last night came on the back of reports of massive flight delays and cancellations across the mainland over the stormy weekend. Air traffic was severely disrupted amid thunderstorms that hit many regions.