Flight faces peril as smog derails landing requests  

(ECNS) -- A flight carrying some 200 people had to circle North China for over 46 minutes and use up enough fuel before it could land at an airport in Qingdao, Shandong province after being refused by two due to Beijing smog, Changjiang Business Daily reported.

Flight MU750 was left with only 1,520 kilograms of fuel for another half-an-hour of flying when it landed. An unnamed pilot said the fuel would not have lasted much longer.

The late night flight from Japan's Asahigawa was supposed to arrive in Beijing on Oct 25, when heavy smog hovering over the capital made it impossible to land.

It was forced to alter course, but was rejected by airports in Jinan city and Qingdao city in Shandong province, which claimed they would not receive any more flights, unless for a fuel emergency.

MU750 had to hover in the air before finally landing in Qingdao at 00:16 am of Sunday.

Some insiders said Jinan and Qingdao's refusal might be due to both airports not being available at the time. It is also possible that these airports did not want to deal with angry passengers, said Chen Jianguo, director of an aviation club.

"Such a move is irresponsible and very dangerous," he added.

Over 300 flights to Beijing were diverted to other airports due to smog on the very night, according to an unnamed air controller in the capital. "Some flights even landed in Shanghai."

Flight SU200 from Russia circled Beijing for 90 minutes around midnight waiting for an expected cold front to disperse the smog. It managed to land when conditions improved.