Heavy snow strands thousands in Xinjiang airport

A total of 4,873 people have been stranded and 104 flights were canceled at Urumqi Airport in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the airport control center.

Among the 104 flights canceled, 51 were outbound and 53 inbound. By 17:30 Tuesday, 53 of 111 outbound planes were delayed, and 61 inbound planes landed safely.

Among the 4,873 people stranded, 1,057 were at Terminal 1, 2,522 at Terminal 2 and 1,294 at Terminal 3.

Urumqi Airport has begun a snow removal emergency plan to guarantee safe takeoff and landing. A total of 26 snow removal trucks have been mobilized, with more than 45 people working non-stop.