Tag: Airports

Nepal Is Investigating New Airport Made by China

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As developing countries weigh the consequences of borrowing heavily from China for major infrastructure projects, anti-corruption officials in Nepal have begun an investigation into a flagship airport financed and built by Chinese state-owned companies. Nepal’s $216 million international airport in Pokhara, the country’s second-biggest city, opened in January. China agreed to provide loans to build the airport more than a decade ago. Nepal tapped China CAMC Engineering, the construction arm of a state-owned conglomerate, Sinomach, as the contractor. The airport has failed to attract any regular international flights, raising concerns…

How Nepal’s Deal With China for an Airport Became an Albatross

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On a sweltering June morning, the new international terminal at the airport in Pokhara, Nepal’s second-biggest city, roared to life with the arrival of a Sichuan Airlines flight from China. A water cannon showered the plane, an Airbus A319, the first international flight to land at the airport since it had opened six months earlier. A throng of people gathered in the arrival area to greet the passengers, wishing them a “hearty welcome” to “the Land of Everest” with their signs. These maiden arrivals were athletes and Chinese officials who…

Cathay Pacific Struggles With Aftermath of Covid, and China Crackdown

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Few major airlines in the world were hit by the Covid pandemic as hard as Cathay Pacific, the flagship carrier of Hong Kong, or have labored so mightily to recover from it. Its business was decimated by some of the industry’s most expansive flight bans and quarantine requirements. And the pandemic wasn’t the start of Cathay’s troubles. In 2019, when Hong Kong was convulsed by pro-democracy protests, Cathay Pacific was caught in the crossfire with Beijing. Flights were canceled or delayed by airport sit-ins involving thousands of demonstrators, among them…

How Finnair’s Huge Bet on Faster Flights to Asia Suddenly Came Undone

Chin@Strategy

Nestled near Europe’s rooftop, Finland spent decades leveraging its location to become a popular gateway for Asian travelers. Its flagship airline, Finnair, offered flights from Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai to Helsinki that, by crossing over Russia, were hours shorter than flights to any other European capital. Airport chiefs invested nearly $1 billion in a new terminal with streamlined transfers. There were signs in Japanese, Korean and Chinese, and hot water dispensers for the instant noodle packets favored by Chinese tourists. Then Russia sent troops across Ukraine’s border on Feb. 24,…

How I Made It to the Beijing Olympics

Chin@Strategy

How I Made It to the Beijing Olympics Alan BlinderReporting on the Olympic Games ⛷ China is hosting this year’s Winter Olympics in a bubble. For me, the bubble formed not in Beijing — but more than 5,000 miles away, at Charles de Gaulle Airport, outside of Paris. Here’s what my trip looked like → NYT

Delta Says Flight to Shanghai Was Turned Round in Midair Because of Cleaning Rules

Chin@Strategy

A Delta Air Lines flight that was en route from Seattle to Shanghai turned back in midair last week because the Chinese airport had imposed new cleaning rules that would have caused delays, the airline said in a statement on Tuesday. “The new cleaning procedures require significantly extended ground time and are not operationally viable for Delta,” the airline said. Details of the new cleaning regulations in place at Shanghai Pudong International Airport were not immediately clear, but China has rolled out increasingly strict Covid-19 travel rules amid a growing…