It may not necessarily have been the weather at PEK itself. The Chinese have a very rigid, Soviet-style centrally controlled civil route structure and because of their paranoia (they think the world wants to spy on them) they frown on large weather deviations from the set routes. Therefore they will close a whole route or sections thereof if part of the route is weather-affected. This greatly affects a system which is flat out handling the required traffic on a good day!
On a very recent PEK flight (after one hour's ground delay) we were told 'enter left hand orbit until further notice'; forty minutes later we were on our way, then there were further delays and then a re-route. Weather was not affecting PEK itself at that time but it was obviously affecting the usual route.
I have been flying in and over China for over two decades and the airports, aids and controllers have improved out of sight (old hands may remember the BFO NDB's, dreadful English, Russian procedures and the squealing radios). Those responsible for civil aviation are trying their best. But after having rebuilt the country by military revolution, the PLA still call the shots.
Therefore China is the reverse of most of the world, the military have the wide open spaces and the civvies have the 'corridors'. China may regard itself as the up-and-coming global economic power, but until this gets sorted out, airline travel in the country and the associated business development will be unreliable at best.
I'm sure my passengers who were over three hours late would agree.
Last edited by Captain Dart; 12th Jun 2011 at 06:05.