NANNING -- Heavy fog disrupted air traffic and stranded more than 3,000 passengers at a pivotal airport in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region Saturday.

As of 7 pm, 30 departure flights from the scenic city of Guilin had been delayed and another 19 canceled. At least 3,200 passengers were stranded in the terminal building, Guilin Airport authorities said in a press release.

At 9 pm, the visibility on the runway still too low for landing. All the incoming flights were forced to land in the neighboring cities of Nanning, Guiyang, Changsha, Guangzhou, Chongqing or Kunming, it said.

The weather report said the fog would continue until 10 am Sunday.

Guilin Airport is a pivotal airport in south China, with flights to most parts of China and international flights to Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok as well as flights to Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao.