上海航班大批延误 低正点率再添尴尬

A new chapter in China's long and inglorious history of airport delays is being written in Shanghai, but the details of how it started and when it will end are as opaque as the banks of smog that hover over the nation's busiest runways.

在上海，中国漫长而不光彩的航班延误史上又添新篇章，但关于这次延误何以出现以及将于何时结束的具体情况仍不明朗，中国最繁忙的跑道正笼罩在重重迷雾之下。

Together Shanghai's two main airports delayed or cancelled dozens of flights on Tuesday after doing the same with hundreds of flights on Monday, leaving crowds of travelers either sitting idly in waiting halls or scrambling to the train station.

上海两大主要机场周二数十个航班延误或取消，而周一已有数百个航班出现了上述情况，滞留旅客或是在候机厅内闲坐等待，或是匆忙赶往火车站。

The reason, according to signs posted at the airports and messages disseminated online: an unspecified 'other user' of the airspace conducting exercises in the area.

据机场告示和网上发布的信息显示，航班延误原因为该空域有“其他用户”正在进行演习。

China's airports are the worst in the world in getting flights off on time, according to flight tracking organization FlightStats, a phenomenon that can lead to passenger meltdowns of harrowing proportion. Authorities and airlines blame all manner of factors, from bad weather to bad communication with air-traffic control. But among the biggest factors, according to aviation experts, is China's military, which dominates all but a fraction of the country's airspace.

据航班追踪组织FlightStats数据显示，中国机场正点率全球垫底。乘客情绪崩溃的情况时有发生，比例高的令人忧心。中国相关部门和航空公司提出了种种延误理由，从天气糟糕到与空管交流不畅，不一而足。不过据航空专家称，中国军方是导致航班延误的最主要因素之一，他们控制了中国绝大部分领空。

The vague references to another user of the airspace have fueled speculation that the delays are a consequence of Chinese Air Force maneuvers in the area.

通告语焉不详地提到空域被另一方使用，因此外界进一步猜测飞机延误是由中国空军在该地上空举行演习造成的。

Contacted by China Real Time on Tuesday, the Civil Aviation Administration of China confirmed that another user was indeed responsible for the delays, but declined to say who it might be. 'We don't have any other information to release at this moment,' an official with the CAAC news office said. 'We've asked that airlines do a proper job in taking care of passengers affected by the delays.'

“中国实时报”栏目记者周二联系了中国民用航空总局，后者证实说延误的确由另一方造成，但不愿透露其具体身份。中国民用航空局新闻处的一位官员表示，其他方面现在无可奉告。这位官员称，他们已要求航空公司做好受影响乘客的安抚工作。

Several authoritative information outlets, including the verified social media accounts of the Beijing police and state broadcaster China Central Television, published a notice saying the delays would last until August 15 and affect multiple airports across eastern China, including in the former capital of Nanjing and the beach town of Qingdao.

北京警方和中国官方电视台中国中央电视台(CCTV)实名认证的社交媒体账户等几家权威信息渠道发布通告称，飞机延误的情况会持续至8月15日，南京和青岛等中国东部地区多个机场将受到影响。

'Flight passengers bring along snacks and water!' warned the notice, which said airlines had been asked to reduce flights in and out of those cities by 25% over the period.

通告提醒说，航班乘客请自带零食和水！通告还称，已要求航空公司在这段时间将出入这些城市的航班量减少25%。

Yet according to CAAC the notice was 'not official,' and indeed, both the Beijing police and CCTV later took it down.

不过中国民用航空总局表示，通告非官方所发。北京警方和CCTV后来均从社交平台上撤下了那则通告。

A similar lack of information paved the way for rumor-mongering in the wake of another mass flight cancellation in Shanghai on July 14, with some Internet users speculating that airspace had been shut down because a high-level government official was trying to flee the country.

由于类似的信息不足的原因，7月14日上海机场出现大面积航班取消的情况后外界也是议论纷纷。一些网友猜测，空域关闭是因为有政府高官试图逃跑。

Globally, Shanghai Pudong ranks 21st and Hongqiao ranks 36th in terms of passenger traffic, according to Airports Council International, an aviation industry association. Together, the two airports handled close to 83 million passengers in 2013 -- more than London's Heathrow and Chicago's O'Hare.

航空业组织国际机场协会(Airports Council International)的数据显示，上海浦东和虹桥机场的客运量在全球分列第21位和第36位。2013年这两个机场的客运总量接近8,300万人次，超过伦敦的希斯罗机场(Heathrow)和芝加哥的奥黑尔机场(O'Hare)。

Between the two airports, 199 flights were cancelled and another 118 were delayed two hours or more on Monday, according to the state-run China Youth Daily. Another 61 were either delayed or cancelled on Tuesday, the Shanghai airport authority said on an official social media feed.

中国官方媒体《中国青年报》(China Youth Daily)称，周一上海两机场共取消了199架次航班，118架次延误两小时或更长时间。上海机场集团在社交媒体上发布官方消息称，周二延误或取消的航班有61架次。