CHENGDU - Almost 10,000 passengers were stranded in southwest China's Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport Saturday after a thunderstorm forced authorities to shut down the airport for more than an hour.

The thunderstorm hit Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, from 9:10 am to 11:30 am, delaying an unspecified number of flights into and out of the airport, the busiest in southwest China, said Lu Junming, an airport official.

Airport authorities and airlines have arranged for food to be served to the stranded passengers, Lu said.

The airport will stay open through Saturday night in order to resume the delayed flights, Lu said.