Description
On the evening of 7 July 2010, Xiaoshan International Airport in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, abruptly suspended all flight operations after an unidentified object was detected in the airspace around the airport.
According to Chinese state media, airport authorities closed the facility for approximately one hour, during which multiple incoming flights were diverted to alternate airports in Ningbo and Wuxi. Local residents reported seeing a bright, elongated object with a luminous tail moving across the sky. Some witnesses described a rotating or spiraling light pattern.
The Chinese government initially stated that the object was a military aircraft conducting exercises, then later revised its statement to say it was likely an aircraft contrail illuminated by sunlight at high altitude. Independent aviation analysts noted that a contrail does not normally trigger the closure of a major international airport, and no confirmed military exercise was announced for the time and location in question.
The Hangzhou incident is significant because it is one of the few cases in which a modern civilian airport was shut down due to an unidentified aerial object, with official acknowledgement of the closure issued by the Chinese government. The case has been widely compared to the 2010 Chinese "UFO flap" — a series of similar sightings across China during the same year.
Video Documentation
UFO that caused China airport to shut down
Report on the 7 July 2010 incident, when a UFO forced Xiaoshan Airport in Hangzhou, China, to cease operations.
Notes
This case remains under investigation. If you have additional documentation or analysis relating to the Hangzhou incident, please contact us via the Report a UAP form.