China to cancel some flights as Typhoon Matmo nears Hainan during peak holiday travel

Chinese authorities will cancel flights in Hainan on Saturday night before Typhoon Matmo hits the southern province, likely disrupting a peak holiday travel period for the resort island.

All flights to and from the provincial capital Haikou‘s international airport are expected to be cancelled from 11 p.m. (1500 GMT), the official Xinhua news agency reported, as Matmo could bring strong winds and heavy rain to southern China, including Guangdong and Yunnan provinces.

Matmo, which caused flooding in the Philippines this week, is expected to make landfall on Sunday.

Haikou plans to halt all schools, work and transport from Saturday afternoon to Sunday, Xinhua said.

During China’s eight-day National Day holiday, which began on Wednesday, people are expected to make some 2.36 billion passenger trips, with daily average trips forecast to be up 3.2% from the same period last year, Xinhua said on Wednesday.

Haikou had planned nearly 150 cultural events and more than 10 sports competitions during the holiday period, while the resort city Sanya had planned 170 art and tourism activities, according to Hainan’s official social media.

State media CCTV, citing meteorological experts, asked the public to stay vigilant as Matmo will have a serious impact on tourism and transportation, while the number of travellers is up significantly.

The Hong Kong Observatory said it would raise the tropical cyclone warning signal to Strong Wind Signal No. 3 at 12:20 p.m. (0420 GMT) and assess the need for higher signals later on Saturday.

The financial hub has issued 12 tropical cyclone warning signals this year, the most since 1946, the observatory said on Friday.