Typhoon Dolphin causes unprecedented flight cancellations between Thailand and China as storms intensify

Severe weather from Typhoon Dolphin has led to significant cancellations and widespread disruption across China and Thailand, affecting thousands of travellers and highlighting the storm’s growing impact on regional transport and tourism.

Typhoon Dolphin has thrown travel between Thailand and eastern China into disarray, with Thai Airways cancelling its Bangkok–Shanghai services on 10 August as severe weather continued to batter the region. The route cuts through one of Asia’s busiest travel corridors, affecting holidaymakers, business travellers and passengers using Shanghai as a connecting hub.

According to the Associated Press, the storm made landfall in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, with winds of about 151 kph, after which Shanghai shut down more than 1,300 flights across its two main airports, Pudong and Hongqiao. AP also reported that authorities moved hundreds of thousands of people out of harm’s way before the worst of the weather arrived, underscoring the scale of the disruption.

For travellers, the practical impact is straightforward but significant: plans can change quickly, even if a flight is only part of a longer journey. Thai Airways said the cancelled services were TG662 from Bangkok to Shanghai and TG663 in the opposite direction. Media reports from Shanghai suggest the storm also disrupted domestic and regional operations far beyond the Thailand route, increasing the chance of missed connections, rebookings and overnight delays.

The wider storm has also affected tourist sites, schools and local transport in eastern China, according to AP, while Spanish newspaper El País reported that rainfall in Shanghai reached record levels in some areas as the system weakened but kept dumping heavy rain inland. For visitors heading to China from Thailand, the safest approach is to check flight status before leaving for the airport, allow extra time for changes and keep a close eye on airline advisories until conditions improve.