Drone flying over airport delays 55 flights in southwest China

The unmanned aerial vehicle, spotted above Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport of Sichuan Province.

Update: 2016-05-29 02:50 GMT
The UK Airprox Board, an air safety agency, said last month there were 23 near-misses between drones and aircraft in the six months between April and October last year. (Representational Photo: AP)

Beijing: A drone flying over an airport in southwest China has grounded 55 flights, official media reported on Sunday.

The unmanned aerial vehicle, spotted at 6:20 pm yesterday above Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport of Sichuan Province, caused the eastern runway to halt operation, leaving 55 flights delayed, state-run Xinhua news agency was quoted as saying by airport staff.

It is the first time that a drone has grounded flights at the airport. The runway resumed operation at 7:40 pm.

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