Typhoon Wipha has seriously affected aviation operations in Hong Kong and some neighboring airports as it moved along the southern coast of China on the afternoon of July 20.
Road, sea and air traffic activities were paralyzed. The Hong Kong - Chu Hai - Macau bridge has been temporarily closed.
At Hong Kong International Airport, more than 400 flights had to change their schedules, affecting about 80,000 passengers.
The Airport Management Agency said it could restore about 400 flights as early as the afternoon of July 20, after the storm moved away from the city. The airport is expected to be very crowded on Sunday evening to accommodate up to 100,000 passengers, SCMP reported.
Macau International Airport has also canceled nearly 200 flights.
Airports in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Macau have canceled or postponed all flights during the day, according to information on the airports' websites.
Many passengers trapped at the airport had to lie on the floor.
Mr. Gong and Ms. Wang from China said they planned to fly to Vietnam on the afternoon of July 20, but only when they arrived at the airport did they know that the flight had been canceled due to the storm.
We received a text message in the morning informing us that the flight was delayed, but we only knew that the flight had been canceled upon arrival, Gong told Xinhua.
In Vietnam, due to the impact of thunderstorms on July 20, to ensure safety, flights departing from Tan Son Nhat airport have temporarily suspended operations. The flights waiting include VN113 Da Nang - Ho Chi Minh City, VN209 Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City, VN1822 Phu Quoc - Ho Chi Minh City, VN1343 Nha Trang - Ho Chi Minh City, VN1856 Con Dao - Ho Chi Minh City.
In addition, some other flights may also be affected.
The airline adjusted the schedule for some flights to and from Hong Kong (China) on July 20.
Typhoon No. 3 Wipha is continuing to move westward and is expected to make landfall in Vietnam in the coming days, according to the China Meteorological Administration.
Typhoon Wipha previously swept through the Philippines as a tropical depression and caused heavy rain in parts of Taiwan (China) on Saturday, July 19.
