What’s new: Domestic and international travel in China was disrupted after thousands of flights were canceled due to heavy snow.
Around 4,330 passenger flights across the country were canceled out of more than 16,000 scheduled on Wednesday, including 938 flights in Beijing, according to figures from data provider Flight Master. Among them, 4,191 were domestic routes and 142 were international.
As of 11 a.m. Thursday, a further 1,239 domestic flights and 39 international flights had been canceled, according to Flight Master.
The background: Various regions in North and Central China including Shanxi, Hebei, Tianjin and the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region were hit by heavy snowfall, strong winds, rain and plunging temperatures on Wednesday, the China Meteorological Administration said on social media.
Beijing on Tuesday night raised the capital’s blizzard warning from yellow to orange, the second-highest on a scale of four. Businesses were encouraged to have employees work from home and implement flexible office hours. Kindergarten, primary and secondary school students attended classes online at home.
Contact reporter Kelsey Cheng (kelseycheng@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
Get our weekly free Must-Read newsletter.
