There’s NO escape! Airport Closes for October 1

The English-language edition of The Global Times is reporting that Beijing Capital International Airport will be closed on the morning of October 1.

The article states: “Beijing Capital International Airport plans to shut down for three hours on National Day, resulting in delays and cancellations of flights. Operators at the airport ticket hotline said that there are no available flights from Beijing between 9:30am and 12:30pm on October 1… All flights leaving Beijing during that period will be postponed, and some will have to wait to take off in the evening.”

Just to clarify things for prospective passengers, the article also hastens to add, “Zhang Peng, spokesperson for Beijing airport, said that they had not received any formal notifications yet.”

Beijing airport at the beginning of a national holiday is chaotic at the best of times – we shudder to think what the scene will be like this October 1.

Our advice is either get out of town early, leave on October 2, or stock up on canned food and stay put. If this morning is anything to go by you might at least glimpse some of the military fly-bys from your apartment window, even if civilian flights will be grounded.