More than 100 flights have reportedly been delayed at Beijing International Airport – by a flock of swallows.
According to the online news provider Ananova, the massive flock blocked the airspace 100 metres above one of the airport’s two runways, meaning that planes could neither take off nor land.
The report says flights were redirected to airports in other cities around China, though some flights were able to take off and land on the airport’s other runway. After three hours, the flock dispersed and services gradually got back to normal.
Aviation experts told the Chinese state media that the birds could have caused crashes if they had been sucked into planes’ engines.
