More than 9,000 air passengers were stranded and 105 flights
delayed due to a heavy fog that blanketed Chengdu, Sichuan's
provincial capital, on Tuesday.
The fog cut visibility at Chengdu's Shuangliu International
Airport to less than 50 meters, far below the 550 meters and 800
meters required for planes to take off and land, respectively.
An airport executive in charge of passenger services said the
fog forced the facility to close for more than five hours between 5
a.m. and 10:28 a.m. During this time, 392 flights were rescheduled,
seven were cancelled and two incoming flights rerouted to airports
in neighboring Chongqing Municipality.
In Chengdu city proper, the fog brought traffic to a standstill
in the congested roads.
The local meteorological station warned the fog would return on
Wednesday morning. It had probably been caused by high humidity in
the area.
It was the eighth time heavy fog had disrupted flights to and
from Chengdu since December.
(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2008)