OVER 140 flights were canceled and some 120 were delayed at Shanghai’s Hongqiao and Pudong airports today due to a thunder and rainstorm weather, the Shanghai Airport Authority said.
The air traffic controller issued an orange alert, the second highest of its four-tier alert system, for both airports from 8am through 5pm today because of heavy rainfalls accompanied by lightning and thunder hitting the city, according to the Air Traffic Management Bureau.
It had predicted the takeoff and landing capacity of Shanghai’s two airports would be reduced by half earlier today. The situation was alleviated around noon as the rain stopped.
However, another massive flight delays began hitting the Hongqiao airport since 4pm when over 80 flights were cancelled and another 60 delayed after the second rainstorm
China Southern Airlines issued a flight delay alarm in the afternoon and cancelled four outbound flights from Hongqiao and five to takeoff from Pudong to Beijing, Guangzhou and northeast and central China.
Passengers lined up at Hongqiao airport’s Terminal 2 building to wait to change or refund their flights while airlines broadcasted their newly cancelled flight continuously.
The city’s flood prevention authority issued a flood alert around 1:30pm and estimated over 50 millimeters of accumulated water across the city through tonight.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/metro/Thunderstorms-affect-hundreds-of-flights-at-city-airports/shdaily.shtml