PASSENGERS in East and Central China will face mass flight delays and cancellations until Aug. 15 after 12 airports were ordered to reduce scheduled flights by 25 percent due to large-scale People’s Liberation Army drills.

    The Civil Aviation Administration of China said yesterday that affected airports include Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and Pudong International Airport, among the country’s busiest terminals, together with others in East China cities of Nanjing, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Jinan, Qingdao, and Central China’s Wuhan and Zhengzhou. Most of the affected airports are located in economically prosperous parts of the country.

    The air traffic control also affected southern and northern cities. Flights in southern cities such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and northern cities including Beijing and Shijiazhuang, were disrupted as well.

    According to a People’s Daily report last Wednesday, PLA land forces will hold 10 inter-regional drills over the next three months.

    Ten rocket artilleries and air defense artilleries from Nanjing, Shenyang, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chengdu and Jinan will take part in the live-fire drills, said the People’s Daily.(SD-Agencies)