Southwestern China’s busiest airport hit by massive hailstorm

AdvertisementAccidents and disasters in ChinaSouthwestern China’s busiest airport hit by massive hailstorm

Flights grounded and aircraft damaged in Kunming as ‘unusually severe’ weather spawns hailstones as big as fists

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Frank Chenin ShanghaiPublished: 4:27pm, 26 Apr 2026Updated: 5:45pm, 26 Apr 2026

Southwestern China’s busiest airport was mopping up and struggling to resume operations on Sunday after a massive hailstorm grounded flights, damaged aircraft and stranded passengers.

Hailstones, some as big as fists, battered Kunming Changshui International Airport in Kunming, Yunnan province, when the storm struck early on Saturday.

The storm lashed runways, terminal roofs and some of the more than 110 aircraft at the facility on Saturday morning, with water seen seeping down into terminal concourses and air bridges.

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“The airport was hit by unusually severe convective weather with intensive bursts of thunderstorms and hail. Parked aircraft were affected by hail strikes,” Yunnan Airport Group, the airport’s operator, said in a notice.

Some jets sustained visible damage to their wings, cockpits and radomes and had been taken out of service pending repairs, according to mainland Chinese media reports.

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