Canceled?flights stranded dozens of local tourists in the United States yesterday as Hurricane Sandy approached the US East Coast.

Three flights at Pudong International Airport bound for New York and New Jersey were canceled yesterday while another two flights due to land at the Pudong airport were delayed in the afternoon, according to the Shanghai Airport Authority.

China Eastern and Delta Air Lines canceled their flights in the morning that were due to take off from Pudong at 11am to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

United Airlines announced in the afternoon that its flight to Newark Liberty International Airport was also canceled.

The two inbound flights from China Eastern and Delta were delayed about an hour.

"Flights to New York will be affected until Tuesday night as the airports in New York currently are open only to emergency flights," Shanghai-based China Eastern announced.

China Eastern said it will publicize plans to add flights to take affected passengers to the US after the hurricane passes.

United Airlines was allowing passengers to change their flights at no extra charge and passengers also could get refunds if their flights were canceled or delayed for more than two hours.

At least 70 Shanghai tourists in tour groups were stranded in US East Coast cities yesterday as flights and airports were paralyzed due to the approaching hurricane.

A group of 30 tourists with Shanghai Spring Travel Agency had to cancel their plans to fly to the US West Coast yesterday. Instead, they had to stay in Washington, DC, where airports were closed, according to the agency.

The travelers said their recent visits to New York and other eastern cities had been affected by the hurricane because they had to stay indoors in hotels at most of the time.

Another group of 40 local tourists with the Shanghai Airlines Travel Agency had to stay in New York until the superstorm passed.