Typhoon Dolphin causes flight chaos in China, with Shanghai set to enter danger zone

Flights serving eastern China were disrupted on Saturday as Typhoon Dolphin approached the coast, with some services cancelled and airlines offering flexible rebooking and refund options for affected passengers. Most of the typhoon-related flight disruptions have been reported at airports in the cities of Ningbo, Wenzhou, Taizhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai, according to Chinese media. Some travellers also reported receiving notifications that flights to and from Shanghai on Sunday and Monday would be cancelled, and shared concerns about possible disruptions in other cities on social media. Flight service app Umetrip showed that 930 flights were scheduled to depart from Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Saturday, 317 of which had been delayed and 78 cancelled as of 7pm. Some 123 arrivals had also been cancelled. Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport cancelled 72 flights on Saturday, including 36 departures and 36 arrivals, according to Umetrip. Zhejiang province and Shanghai will be in the storm’s “dangerous semicircle”, where stronger winds and heavier rainfall are expected, according to the National Meteorological Centre (NMC). Both regions are forecast to be hit by torrential rain on Sunday. Airlines including Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Spring Airlines and Juneyao Airlines have waived fees for changing or cancelling eligible tickets bought on or before August 7. As of 7pm on Saturday, the centre of the storm was located over the southern East China Sea, about 430km (270 miles) east of Wenzhou in Zhejiang, according to the NMC. An orange typhoon alert, the second-highest level in China’s four-tier typhoon warning system, remained in force on Saturday evening. A red alert, the highest level, for mountain flood risks was also issued, which warned that parts of eastern Zhejiang could face a high to very high risk over the next 24 hours. The storm is expected to make landfall along the coast between Zhoushan in Zhejiang and Fuding in Fujian province between Sunday night and early Monday morning, according to the NMC. Typhoon Dolphin is expected to bring strong winds to the East China Sea and coastal areas including Shanghai, Zhejiang, northeastern Fujian, Jiangsu province and Taiwan on Saturday, with heavy to torrential rain expected across eastern China over the next three days. Multiple national departments and local authorities have activated emergency response measures to guard against potential flooding, marine and geological disasters and other risks linked to the typhoon. Ningbo Lishe International Airport said it would suspend flight operations from 11.30pm on Saturday, with all flights cancelled on Sunday. The airport said the resumption of operations would depend on the typhoon’s development and impact. The airport had confirmed 55 flight cancellations as of Saturday morning, including 47 inbound and eight outbound flights. Flight tracker VariFlight said that Wenzhou Longwan International Airport had cancelled more than 100 inbound and outbound flights as of 9.30am on Saturday, with more than 220 cancellations scheduled for Sunday. Some of the main air travel hubs eastern and central China are expected to be affected between Sunday and Tuesday, including both the main Shanghai airports, Pudong and Hongqiao. Flights from Hangzhou Xiaoshan, Ningbo Lishe, Wenzhou Longwan, Fuzhou Changle and Xiamen Gaoqi will also be hit. VariFlight said airports in the provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, Hubei and Hunan might also see disruptions. It could also affect airports in northern China – including Beijing Capital, Beijing Daxing, Tianjin Binhai and Shijiazhuang Zhengding – on Thursday and Friday. The Zhejiang provincial authorities held a video conference on Saturday morning to discuss their response to the typhoon, calling for swift action and enhanced preparations against potential disasters. Provincial party secretary Wang Hao warned that Dolphin could be stronger and longer-lasting than Typhoon Bavi, which caused severe flooding and landslides last month, and have a greater impact on the province. Other parts of the country were also bracing for its potential impact. The typhoon is also expected to bring heavy to torrential rain to large parts of the country’s east coast, stretching from Fujian in the southeast to Shandong, including Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui and Jiangxi. Further afield, it could also bring scattered heavy rains to parts of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Chongqing in the southwest, Hainan in the south and Hubei in central China. Severe thunderstorms and hailstorms were also forecast to continue until Sunday morning in some of the affected areas.

Typhoon Dolphin causes flight chaos in China, with Shanghai set to enter danger zone

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Airlines offer free flight changes and cancellations ahead of the storm, which is expected to bring torrential rain to the region

Airlines offer free flight changes and cancellations ahead of the storm, which is expected to bring torrential rain to the region