Typhoon Dolphin forced Shanghai’s two international airports, Pudong and Hongqiao, to cancel more than 1,300 flights after making landfall on China’s eastern coast on the evening of 9 August 2026. Chinese authorities relocated over 300,000 people preemptively as the storm approached, and by 11 August, flight-tracking data showed 761 cancellations and 8,207 delays across major Asian aviation hubs, with Shanghai Pudong alone logging 664 delays.
The disruption extended well beyond Shanghai. Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou and Taizhou airports all reported cancellations, and Hong Kong recorded its hottest day ever, 36.9 degrees Celsius, as Dolphin’s outer bands interacted with the region’s summer heat. This explainer breaks down what happened, the scale of the disruption, and why 2026’s typhoon season is shaping up to be one of the most active on record.
What Typhoon Dolphin Did to Shanghai’s Airports
As Typhoon Dolphin approached on 8 August, flight service app Umetrip showed 930 flights scheduled to depart from Shanghai Pudong International Airport that Saturday, with 317 already delayed and 78 cancelled by 7pm, alongside 123 cancelled arrivals. The disruption escalated sharply once the storm made landfall the following evening, with Shanghai’s two airports ultimately cancelling more than 1,300 flights combined and stranding aircraft and cabin crews across the network.
By 11 August, three days after landfall, flight-tracking data compiled across the region showed the scale of the follow-on disruption: 761 cancellations and 8,207 delays across East and South Asian hubs, with Shanghai Pudong recording 664 delays and Beijing Capital 645, even as the storm system itself had already moved inland.
| Airport | Delays (11 Aug data) | Cancellations |
| Shanghai Pudong (PVG) | 664 | Part of 1,300+ combined at both Shanghai airports |
| Beijing Capital (PEK) | 645 | Included in regional 761 total |
| Tokyo Haneda (HND) | 405 | 50 |
Why This Disruption Ran Longer Than a Normal Storm
Aircraft and crew displacement is what turned a two-day weather event into a multi-day travel disruption. Once the suspension of operations at Shanghai’s airports left planes and cabin crews out of position, flight delays persisted for several days after the storm itself had passed, since airlines had to reposition aircraft before resuming normal schedules. Thai Airways, for example, cancelled its Bangkok-to-Shanghai Pudong route on 10 August as a direct consequence.
The knock-on effects also hit hospitality, retail and transit sectors across eastern China, since cancelled flights mean cancelled hotel stays, missed business meetings and disrupted supply chains for time-sensitive cargo. Passengers travelling through the region were advised to check flight status before heading to the airport and to consider alternate gateways such as Hangzhou Xiaoshan or Nanjing Lukou, connecting to Shanghai by high-speed rail if travel could not be postponed.
A More Active Typhoon Season Than Usual
Tropical Storm Risk projected the 2026 northwest Pacific typhoon season would be one of the most active on record, forecasting 28 tropical storms, 20 typhoons and 13 intense typhoons for the year. Dolphin’s impact was compared by Chinese meteorologists to Typhoon Doksuri in 2023, which caused destruction in Fujian province and record-breaking rainfall in Beijing. As Dolphin’s remnants met colder air moving south, Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei were placed on alert for heavy rain in the days that followed.
