Shanghaiist: Did greed and politics cause the airport shutdown?

Simon Templar

Sun, 03 Dec 2006 13:25:44 +0800

The irony is foreign newspapers get hold of these stories and think what a joke. China is a world power but cant control its military and make it butt out of commercial affairs and commercial airspace. Makes you think, when they were building pudong airport, why didnt they think, hmmmm, now who should we consult or notify about the airport location, oh i know, the airforce, they fly planes too, dont they.. China, great hardware but the software..its a bit lacking.

jean

Sun, 03 Dec 2006 09:36:33 +0800

If just one Chinese politician would act smart and accountable and step forward and say something open and honest, it would do China and the world a lot of good. All of this superficial rhetoric about a "harmonious society" and "scientific development" rings hollow when you have an incident like this. Does anyone believe this? Why was there no warning? Why weren't flights rescheduled months in advance? Was this just horrendous planning or a horrendous cover-up??? Shanghai Airport suspends flights for biochemical-weapons drill Shanghai. December 2. INTERFAX-CHINA - Shanghai's Pudong International Airport suspended flights for several hours yesterday because of a "biochemical weapons drill" in preparation for the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing, according to an airport official. A China customs official working at the airport, who asked to remain anonymous, said the government closed the airport as part of an anti-terrorism drill in an effort to prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the Expo in Shanghai in 2010. Another government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said yesterday flights were blocked from landing from 1:40 p.m. through 4:40 p.m. -RJ

nanheyangrouchuan

Sun, 03 Dec 2006 01:27:14 +0800

To get rich is glorious. The shakedown on Beijing's airport will be one for the storybooks.

chinky

Sat, 02 Dec 2006 22:47:29 +0800

I am chinese and to read about this just makes me embarrassed and ashamed sometimes. WTF are these people thinking? Why do they have to act gangsta-like? After being in many parts of China, this type of situation is very common. They have no sense of making a customer satisfied. Customer service? That's obsurd! Well, generally, the people nice, but sh*t like this is BS. Forget about the millions of people trying to get to their destination. Lets just shut down the airspace. Pretty smart of them to build an airport near a military base. Just like that electrical tower they planted in the middle of the road where i am now. Everyone's got to drive around it!