Typhoon Bavi Grounds Thousands of Flights and Trains, Stranding Russian Tourists in China

A powerful typhoon slammed into China’s eastern coast over the weekend, forcing the cancellation of nearly 2,800 flights and high-speed trains and leaving travelers—including a Russian family—scrambling to salvage their vacations. Typhoon Bavi made landfall near Zhejiang province just after midnight Saturday, bringing fierce winds and heavy rain that disrupted transport across the region. By Sunday noon, Shanghai’s two major airports had canceled 40 percent of scheduled flights, with Pudong airport grounding 905 departures and Hongqiao airport canceling another 384.

The storm also paralyzed rail service. Many high-speed trains from Shanghai and cities in Zhejiang, Fujian, and Anhui were either canceled or delayed Saturday night into Sunday morning. Service has since been slowly resuming, but not before thousands of passengers had to rethink their plans. Among them was Russian tourist Veronika, who was traveling through China with her family. They had booked a Sunday morning bullet train from Shanghai to Beijing, but as they packed for the station, a notification from Trip.com alerted them that their 9 a.m. train was canceled due to the weather. A full refund was promised automatically.

Stranded in Shanghai, Veronika’s family extended their hotel stay and contacted their insurance company, which demanded a cancellation certificate—something the train station couldn’t provide. An AI assistant on the booking platform stepped in, chatting with them in Russian and advising that a screenshot of the booking would suffice. “It helped us a lot,” Veronika said. “We got clear instructions.” She noted the Shanghai station was eerily quiet Sunday morning, with most trains showing as canceled on the boards. By Sunday evening, the Shanghai meteorological bureau lowered the typhoon warning to blue, the lowest level, as the storm moved inland. Strong winds are still expected Monday.