Japan: Heavy snowfall strands 2000 passengers at Sapporo Airport Jan. 5-6

Event

Heavy snowfall on Hokkaido resulted in 105 flight cancelations at New Chitose Airport (CTS), serving Sapporo, on Saturday, January 5, leaving some 2000 passengers stranded overnight (local time) from Saturday into Sunday, January 6. Crowded conditions and lingering flight disruptions are to be expected at the airport through Tuesday, January 8, as most flights from CTS are fully booked on Monday.

Further forecast snowfall may result in additional flight delays and cancelations at CTS over the coming days and hinder airlines from clearing the passenger backlog.  

Advice

Individuals traveling via CTS are advised to monitor local weather forecasts, budget additional time to travel to the airport and reach their respective gates, and confirm flight reservations. Contact your airline for more information.