Shijiangzhuang Zhengding International Airport in North China's Hebei Province Photo: Sina Weibo

An unidentified flying object, which was found to be a balloon, was spotted on Thursday in Shijiazhuang, North China's Hebei Province, while causing widespread delays at the local airport and forcing planes to be diverted to other airports in nearby cities.

The airspace of Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport was occupied between 11:00 am and 13:00 pm. Flights arriving at that time were diverted to other airports, but things have now returned to normal, a staff member from the airport said to the media.

Some netizens posted pictures on Thursday showing that a number of flights arriving in Shijiazhuang were diverted to backup airports around noon, according to information released by the Chinese flight tracking platform Feichangzhun.

Flights at Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport were diverted due to the sighting of an unidentified flying object, a staff member at the CAAC North China Regional Administration said, adding that operations at the local airport have returned to normal, but details of the balloon are yet to be released by authorities.

Moreover, flight operations at Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport are gradually returning to normal, with 87 percent of the overall rate of on-time arrivals still below historical levels, according to flight tracking apps.

The balloons as well as other unidentified flying objects have been a hot topic on Chinese social media in recent days, after another unidentified flying object was found near the coastal city of Rizhao in East China's Shandong Province on Sunday.

Global Times