Major airports in east and south China were forced to restrict
arrivals for lack of gate positions as a new round of snow hit the
region, the civil aviation authority announced on Saturday.
Airports in Hangzhou, Zhejiang and Nanchang, Jiangxi suspended
service due to snow and ice on the runways, according to the
Central Administration of Civil Aviation.
Shanghai's Pudong Airport had to halt landings before 12 a.m.
due to lack of gate positions. The city's other airport, Hongqiao,
and airports in nearby cities including Nanjing, Changsha and
Wenzhou also restricted flights. These airports were running short
of gate positions as it took some time to de-ice the planes that
had landed earlier.
Shanghai's two international airports had delayed more than 500
flights and canceled 13 by noon, leaving a large number of
passengers stranded.
However, the airport in Hefei, Anhui Province, was able to
resume service after being closed all morning, the administration
said.
The snow and sleet that affected China's southern regions was
expected to taper off late on Saturday night, the Central
Meteorological Station (CMS) forecast on Saturday morning. But the
outlook was less favorable in eastern and southern China, where
heavy snow -- the worst in decades -- could last until Feb. 8 or 9,
according to the latest CMS forecasts.
The severe weather had so far killed at least 60 people,
authorities said, and left many millions facing a cold, dark Lunar
New Year holiday.
(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2008)