A severe snowstorm has caused the cancelation of dozens of Japanese domestic flights in the northern and western parts of the country. Japan’s two largest airlines, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL), blame the bad weather for canceling more than 100 flights over the holiday weekend.
ANA said that it had to cancel 77 flights as of 16:00 local time (07:00 GMT) as heavy snow continued to fall along the Sea of Japan side of the country. When speaking about the ongoing weather-related event, Operations Director at ANA, Mr Yutaka Kitahara, said that 5,100 passengers had been affected by the cancelations but that things could worsen as the weather situation in north-eastern Japan remains unstable.
Power cuts and traffic jams
Japan’s second-largest airline JAL said that as of 10:00 local time, it had canceled 35 flights and that 1,810 passengers had been affected by the cancelations. And it is not only flights that have been involved with traffic jams and disruption to rail services also adding to the chaos.
A massive dump of snow is hitting the Sea of Japan coast, freezing travel in some areas. pic.twitter.com/gMxmMNnO8Q
— NHK WORLD News (@NHKWORLD_News) December 27, 2021
According to Kansai Electric Power, heavy drifts continue to build up in some parts of the country, leaving more than 3,200 homes are without power; as meteorologists warn, more snow was expected overnight.
While no deaths or injuries have been reported when speaking about the ongoing weather event with France 24 government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said:
“A strong winter pressure pattern is causing heavy snow, mainly along the Sea of Japan side of the country from northern to western Japan, with some areas experiencing record snowfall.” Adding, “The amount of snow is expected to increase tomorrow… increased caution and vigilance are still required.”
A major road artery in the Shiga region is closed due to stranded cars and trucks following an accident near Hikone, where 26 inches of snow has fallen in 24 hours.
Omicron is causing flight cancelations in the USA
Meanwhile, as Japan continues to battle with the snow, airlines in the United States canceled more than 700 flights yesterday as the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 wreaks havoc. For the third day in a row, thousands of people have been left stranded at airports accross the country as airlines deal with employees calling in sick. In a United Airlines statement about flight cancelations carried by the Independent, a spokesperson for the nations third largest airline said:
“The nationwide spike in Omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operations. As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel some flights and are notifying impacted customers in advance of them coming to the airport.”
The latest figures from the US Department of Health and Human Services show that around 70,000 American’s were admitted to the hospital on Christmas Eve suffering from the coronavirus. According to reports, hospitalization for COVID-19 in December are up 50% when compared to a month earlier.
Delays and cancellations are likely to continue
With the number of hospitalizations in the United States continuing to increase, medical experts are calling on the unvaccinated to come forward and get the vaccine.
The travel chaos in Japan looks set to continue for at least another day. As we move towards New Years’ Eve, we can most likely expect more flight cancelations and delays due to the ongoing medical emergency.
Has the snowstorm canceled your flight in Japan? If so, please tell us about it in the comments.
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