The five-day airspace control that disrupted the travel plans of thousands of air passengers to and from Shanghai since Tuesday ended at midnight of Saturday, said an official with the General Administration of Civil Aviation (CAAC) on Sunday.

More than 30 flights were postponed on Sunday, according to Li Jingao, an official with the market management office of the Shanghai-based CAAC East China Air Traffic Management Bureau. About 20 of the flights were domestic, mainly from Shanghai to Shenyang, Wuhan and Chongqing.

"The delay was resulted from a backlog caused by the control in previous days," Li said. "We have worked overtime at the two airports, otherwise more flights would be affected."

More than 100 flights were delayed on Saturday, according to Li, who estimated that the knock-on effect would last until Monday, when about a dozen flights are to be affected.

"The airspaces control this time is long," Li said. "Situation would return to normal by Tuesday."

More than 150 flights were delayed in Shanghai and about 7,000 passengers were affected during the first two days of the airspace controls. Most flights were bound for domestic destinations including Guangzhou, Xiamen, Shenzhen, Beijing and Dalian.

Sources at the Baiyun airport in Guangzhou, where 1,600 passengers suffered delays on Tuesday, said several flights were affected, but only for brief periods, with no large-scale passenger delays.

(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2007)