China military drills: 200 flights cancelled, red alert issued
30 July 2014 10:55 PM GMT
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) warned that eight airports will not allow landings and Shanghai’s two airports will see their capacity down to 25 per cent.
Due to the military’s use of air space above Shanghai from 2pm to 6pm on Tuesday, the air traffic capacity at Shanghai’s Hongqiao and Pudong international airports will fall by 75 per cent, and the capacity of air routes in Zhengzhou in Henan province will also drop by 75 per cent, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
State-run CCTV reported over 200 flights were cancelled. According to the national and local maritime safety administrations, exercises would be carried out in the Bohai Sea for eight days from last Friday, in the East China Sea for five days from on Tuesday and in the Gulf of Tonkin for seven days from last Saturday.
Military experts said the drills were intended to signal China’s tough stance towards Japan and its ally, the United States, in the region and were timed to coincide with the 120th anniversary of the first Sino-Japanese war, the Post report said.
Eight airports in Linxi, Xuzhou, Lianyungang, Huaian, Yancheng, Changzhou, Yangzhou and Nantong will suspend all landings during the four-hour period.
Some northbound flights from airports in Jiangxi, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces will not be able to take off, according to a notice put out by the CAAC’s Air Traffic Management Bureau.
Due to the military’s use of air space above Shanghai from 2pm to 6pm on Tuesday, the air traffic capacity at Shanghai’s Hongqiao and Pudong international airports will fall by 75 per cent, and the capacity of air routes in Zhengzhou in Henan province will also drop by 75 per cent, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
State-run CCTV reported over 200 flights were cancelled. According to the national and local maritime safety administrations, exercises would be carried out in the Bohai Sea for eight days from last Friday, in the East China Sea for five days from on Tuesday and in the Gulf of Tonkin for seven days from last Saturday.
Military experts said the drills were intended to signal China’s tough stance towards Japan and its ally, the United States, in the region and were timed to coincide with the 120th anniversary of the first Sino-Japanese war, the Post report said.
Eight airports in Linxi, Xuzhou, Lianyungang, Huaian, Yancheng, Changzhou, Yangzhou and Nantong will suspend all landings during the four-hour period.
Some northbound flights from airports in Jiangxi, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces will not be able to take off, according to a notice put out by the CAAC’s Air Traffic Management Bureau.
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