THE airport in Chengdu was closed to flights yesterday afternoon following a major earthquake in the region, and all domestic flights headed for that airport were being diverted in Chongqing, local aviation staff said.

Staff at Jiangbei Airport in Chongqing, the biggest industrial city in western China, said five flights originally destined for Chengdu were diverted to the Chongqing airport as of 4:30 p.m. and more were expected.

A number of flights at the Chongqing airport were postponed because of the earthquake, they said.

Flights from Beijing to quake-affected areas in southwest China were delayed yesterday, according to the Beijing capital airport.

Air China announced that all its flights to Chengdu had been diverted to land at other airports.

It did not receive any reports of casualties or building damage from the airports.

Flights from Beijing to Chengdu, neighboring Chongqing Municipality, and Xi'an in Shaanxi Province, where the tremor was also felt, were all delayed, a Beijing airport spokesman said.

Passengers were asked to call the enquiry number 64541100 at the airport for information on their flights.